Leon Sorin Muntean

Varieties of aromatic and medicinal plants developed in Romania

The objectives of aromatic and medicinal plant breeding are complex: of these, the establishment of numerous traits: yield level, raw-material quality (content in active substances), uniformness of the material and reaching of technological maturity of harvesting, ability to adaptation and hardiness to diseases, pests, laying, frost, drought etc., behavior of plant raw-material during processing etc. In Romania, 20 species have been developed and authenticated, all productive and rich in active substances, weather-and pest resistant; of these, seven were authenticated between 1990 and 1997: Unirea (Cynara scolymus L.), Record (Mentha crispa L.), Silvia (Datura innoxia Mill.), Smarald (Thymus vulgaris L.), Safir (Papaver somniferum L.), Tages (Tagetes patula L.), Azur (Vinca minor L.). Seed and planting material with important numbers of species of aromatic and medicinal plants have been developed with years.