Dynamics of yield components and essential oil production in a commercial hybrid sage (Salvia officinalis x Salvia fruticosa cv. Newe Ya'ar no. 4).

The fresh yields, the essential oil content, and the quality of a sage hybrid (Salvia officinalis x Salvia fruticosa, cv. Newe Ya'ar No. 4, Lamiaceae) as affected by development and harvest time were determined. Marked increases in plant height and in the number of nodes developed per plant together with a modest increase in leaf size were accompanied by dramatic increases (more than 20-fold) in the fresh yields throughout a 50-day growth period. No major changes in the essential oil content per fresh weight and its composition were detected throughout the growth period. In contrast, the compositions of the essential oils obtained from stems, as compared to leaves and leaf-primordia, had marked differences. Developmentally controlled changes in the extractives from individual leaf pairs from the same plant were also noted. In upper young leaves, the oxygenated diterpene manool and the sesquiterpene hydrocarbons alpha-humulene and beta-caryophyllene constituted up to 20%, 8%, and 4% of the total extractives, respectively. In older leaves, the abundance of these components steadily dropped to roughly half their levels in young leaves. Conversely, the proportions of the monoterpenes, particularly the ketones camphor and alpha-thujone, steadily increased with leaf position. Minor changes in the levels of other extractives were also recorded. These studies imply independent regulatory patterns for di-, sesqui-, and monoterpenes in this sage hybrid, and suggest possible agrotechnical means to obtain preferred chemical compositions of its essential oil.