The effect of the desiccants treatment on the fennel quality (Foeniculum vulgare var. vulgare Mill.)

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare var. vulgare Mill.) is an perennial herb, it is cultivated for the essential oil in the fruits. The quality criteria are essential oil content, microbiological contamination and residua of pesticides. The important part of the cultivation technology is ununiform maturity of the fruits. The aim of this work was to find out the influence of the desiccants on quality and yield characteristics of fennel fruits produced in field conditions in the first years of growing. Three preparations were applied: glufosinate-NH4, 150 g.l–1 (2 l.ha–1), diquat dibromide, 200 g.l–1 (3 l.ha–1) and glyphosate-IPA, 480 g.l–1 (3 l.ha–1) in three repetitions. The non treated control variant was also repetited three times. The samples were analysed for quantitative and qualitative parameters: the fruit yield (t.ha–1), the essential oil content (%, V/m), the essential oil yield (kg.ha–1), the essential oil composition and the residua content.