Influence of planting density and development stage on photosynthetically absorbed radiation, biomass and artemisinin yield of Artemisia annua L. ‘Apollon’

Malaria is among the most serious parasitic diseases in the world.
Artemisinin, a secondary metabolite in the leaves of Artemisia annua L., is used in therapies against malaria.
For answering the increasing demand for low cost artemisinin, plants with high artemisinin content are required and consequently new cultivars have been developed.
One of the high yielding cultivars is ‘Apollon’ bred in Switzerland.
The objective of this study was to develop a cultivation strategy for the A. annua ‘Apollon’. For this purpose, two field trials have been set up.
A density trial to analyze the impact of five planting densities on interception of photosynthetically active radiation, plant development, biomass parameters, artemisinin content and yield.
A second experiment was dedicated to investigate the effect of development stage on the artemisinin content in leaves.
Results showed that the most suitable population density, giving the highest leaf yields and artemisinin yields was of 50,000 plants ha^-1. However, net income per hectare was highest for a plant density of about 20,000 plants ha^-1 considering also plantlets and planting costs.
Concerning the optimal harvest stage, highest artemisinin contents in the leaves as well as the highest artemisinin yields were registered around 120 days after transplanting plants into the field, i.e. around mid-September in the latitudes of Switzerland.
These results are valuable for the commercial agricultural production of artemisinin to better ensure the supply of artemisinin.

XXXI International Horticultural Congress (IHC2022): International Symposium on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Domestication, Breeding, Cultivation and New Perspectives

C. Carlen, S. Koch, B. Christ, X. Simonnet

malaria, cultivars, annual wormwood, artemisinin yield, production method, harvest

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1358.13