The Selection ofThymus vulgarisCultivars to Grow in Canada

Abstract

Five different cultivars of Thymus vulgaris originating from various geographical sources (Canada, Germany, former GDR and Spain) were organically cultivated in the fields in Quebec, Canada. The oils obtained through steam distillation of the dried leaves from each cultivar varied from 1.38% to 2.04%, depending on the cultivarused. The highest oil content was obtained from cv “Madrid” followed by “RH-1” and “Laval-1.” More than 95% of the oil, with a total of approximately 22 components were identified in the samples. Oxygenated monoterpenes were the main group of constituents in all cultivars. Cultivar “Laval-1,” recentiy developed in Quebec, “Madrid” from Spain and “RH-1” from Germany were established to belong to thymol-chemotypes. Cultivar “QDLB” characterized by its content of thymol (approximately 39%), carvacrol (17%) and linalool (3.5%) in the oil, was also found to belong to “thymol”-chemotypes, while “RH-2” with carvacrol (40%) was found to be a carvacrol-chemotype. Though none of the cultivars had the desired levels of linalool content, “Laval-1” and “RH-1” were found to be prospective cultivars for field commercial organic cultivation in Canada.