Oakes Irrigation Research
Site
Carrington Research Extension Center * North Dakota State University
P.O. Box 531, Oakes, ND 58474-0531, Voice: (701) 742-2189, FAX: (701)
742-2700, email: rgreenla@ndsuext.nodak.edu
HERB PRELIMINARY TRIAL, 2000
Ron Smith, Richard G Greenland
Table 71. Height, percent flowering, stand, and vigor on July 19.
Table 72. Herb yields for herbs harvested on three dates.
Although herbs grow well in North Dakota, there has been little done to determine the yields per acre a producer could expect in this area. This trial was designed to find that information. All herbs were planted as annuals, even though some are perennials or biennials in other areas.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
| Soil: | Embden sandy loam and Hecla sandy loam; pH=6.8; 2.4% organic matter; soil-P was very high; soil-K was high; soil-S was very high. |
| Previous crop: | 1999 - field corn; 1998 - carrot; 1997 - pepper. |
| Seedbed preparation: | Disked on 29 October 1999. Multiweeded (field cultivated) three times; April 4, May 24, and May 31 to incorporate fertilizer and prepare seedbed. |
| Planting: | Planted on June 1. Anise hyssop was planted in 24" rows with an in-row spacing of 12". The remainder of the herbs were all planted in 12" rows. In-row spacing were: Basils and savory - 7"; chamomile - 9", and oregano - 6". Each plant received 1 pint of fertilizer solution (1 gal 10-34-0 in 100 gal of water) after it was planted. |
| Plots: | Plots were 17 ft long by 6 ft wide. There were 4 reps. |
| Fertilizer: | On April 4, broadcast 18 lbs N/acre and 20 lbs S/acre as 21-0-0-24. Sprayed 50 lbs N/acre as 28-0-0 on April 17. |
| Irrigation: | Surface drip irrigation as needed. |
| Pest control: | Weeds were controlled by hand weeding as needed. |
| Harvest: | Harvested three times; June 27, July 20, and Sept 11 or Sept 12. The first harvest was done by hand clipping. The last two harvests were done using a sickle mower and gathering the herb by hand after cutting, except that chamomile was hand harvested the second harvest and was not harvested the last harvest. |
Generally herbs are harvested when they begin to bloom, but when these herbs began to bloom there was very little foliage. This may have been due to some stress placed on the plants. After cutting, the plants regrew and were cut when they again began to flower a second time. The plants took much longer to flower the third time and produced much more foliage.
Sweet basil produced the greatest yield, followed by Red Reuben basil and summer savory. Chamomile produced the least (we harvested only the flower heads) and the plants died as the season progressed. Sweet basil and summer savory were the most vigorous herbs.
Growing herbs was new to us and we made many mistakes. With experience the yields and quality should increase. Yields of dried herbs reported from other areas are: Basil - 1,740 lbs/acre; summer savory - 1,300 lbs/acre; oregano - 1,740 lbs/acre; chamomile - 435 lbs/acre; and anise hyssop - 1,500 lbs/acre. We did not separate the leaves from the stems, which could have inflated our yields. Also, we may have harvested some of the herbs when they were too old and too big.
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Table 71. Height, percent flowering, stand, and vigor on July 19 for the herb preliminary trial.
| Herb name | Plant height | Flowering | Stand | Vigor |
| inches | % | 1 to 101 | 1 to 101 | |
| Anise hyssop | 16 | 54 | 8.4 | 7.8 |
| Sweet basil | 19 | 53 | 8.3 | 8.0 |
| Red Reuben basil | 12 | 55 | 7.0 | 6.5 |
| Chamomile | 10 | 100 | 5.5 | 4.3 |
| Oregano | 12 | 65 | 8.0 | 7.5 |
| Summer savory | 20 | 90 | 7.3 | 8.5 |
| Holy Basil | 11 | 15 | 6.5 | 5.5 |
1The higher the number the better the stand or vigor.
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Table 72. Herb yields for herbs harvested on three dates in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2000 herb preliminary trial.
| Herb name | June 27 | July 20 | Sept. 11 or 12 | |||
| fresh | dry | fresh | dry | fresh | dry | |
| -------------------------- lbs per acre ---------------------------- | ||||||
| Anise hyssop | 490 | 110 | 1,890 | 560 | 4,120 | 1,280 |
| Sweet basil | 510 | 80 | 10,850 | 4,190 | 34,940 | 7,710 |
| Red Reuben basil | 350 | 50 | 3,190 | 770 | 14,140 | 2,330 |
| Chamomile | 240 | 50 | 350 | 80 | 0 | 0 |
| Oregano | 0 | 0 | 1,370 | 410 | 9,090 | 2,900 |
| Summer savory | 0 | 0 | 6,310 | 1,600 | 6,630 | 1,980 |
| Holy Basil | 0 | 0 | 970 | 350 | 9,010 | 2,140 |
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Go to Oakes Irrigation Research Site Variety Performance Trials
Go to Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2000 annual report