Agronomic performance and leaf-morphological evaluation of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) germplasm under the environmental conditions of Adana

Abstract

The identification of high-yielding basil ( Ocimum basilicum L.) genotypes is essential for the sustainable supply of industrial raw material in Mediterranean agroecosystems. This study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance, leaf morphology, and selection potential of a diverse basil germplasm collection in order to identify promising genotypes for industrial biomass production under Mediterranean environmental conditions. A total of 90 basil genotypes were evaluated during the 2023 and 2024 growing seasons in Adana, Türkiye, using an augmented randomized block design with four checks. Highly significant genotypic variation was detected for most agronomic and leaf traits. MT30 and MT76 were the most outstanding genotypes for industrial biomass production, with mean annual cumulative fresh herb yield of 41776.7 kg/ha and 35149.0 kg/ha, respectively. MT30 also produced the highest mean annual cumulative dry herb yield (6610.4 kg/ha) and the highest mean annual cumulative dry leaf yield (3971.1 kg/ha), indicating strong suitability for biomass-production potential. In terms of plant architecture, MT89 showed the greatest branching capacity (18.3 per plant), while MT30 also combined higher plant height and greater canopy diameter with high biomass productivity. For leaf morphology, MT72 had the highest overall mean leaf area (23.9 cm²) and leaf width (4.9 cm), whereas the corresponding means for MT80 were 20.5 cm² and 4.4 cm, respectively. In general, phenotypic coefficients of variation exceeded genotypic coefficients, while heritability and genetic advance were high for major yield-related traits, indicating strong selection potential. Multivariate analyses further separated the material into distinct yield-oriented and morphology-oriented genotype groups. The results demonstrate substantial phenotypic diversity within the evaluated basil germplasm under the environmental conditions of Adana over two growing seasons. MT30 and MT76 were identified as the most promising genotypes for high industrial biomass production, whereas MT80 and MT89 provide valuable trait-specific resources for large-leaf and branching ideotypes, respectively. These genotypes constitute candidate parental material for cultivar development and future breeding programs.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. BMC Plant Biology, 2026 · DOI ↗