BASIL
Ocimum basilicum L.
This article was translated by Angela Iancu!
Fr. Basilic; G.: Basilic; M.: Bazsalikom;R.: Bazilik kamfornîi.
Identification elements: the plant: annual, herb species, up-right, 20-60 cm tall, divided from the base; the root: fibrous, branched; the stem: with 4 obvious angles, hairy especially in the upper part; leaves: opposed, ovate and with an acute apex, the margin with rare and subdued teeth, 3-5 cm in length, 2-2,5 cm wide, without hairs, shiny and with a petiole approx. 1 cm long; flowers: grouped as 4-6 in fake whorls towards the upper parts of the branches, forming interrupted spike inflorescences; the flowers have a bilabial calyx, the corolla is white or pink, the upper labium with four rounded teeth, the lower one whole and longer; the 4 stamina and especially the style with the stigma are coming out of the corolla; fruits: ovate, black- brown nuts, 2 mm long, grouped in 4 at the base of the persistent calyx.
Flowering: VII – IX.
Raw material: Herba Basilici – formed out of young stems and branches covered with green leaves, with or without inflorescences; the flowers have a white or pink-whitish corolla with a short tube, bilabial. The odor is pleasantly flavored, the taste is specifically aromatic.
Ecology and distribution: The plant requires a lot of warmth, but unlike other labiates rich in volatile oil, the basil can develop well in half shadowed places. It is affected by the late frost in spring. The humidity requirements are moderate.
The basil is more demanding towards the soil because it develops only on soils rich in nutrients, which are structured, permeable, without a crust. Are counter indicated the clay, heavy, cold soils on which water stagnates and also the sands and saltings.
Cultivation technology: It is recommended that the basil is cultivated after a leguminous plant, a fodder plant, on a field free of dodder. It can be cultivated on the same soil only after 6-7 years.
The land is prepared for the basil in a normal way. It is deeply ploughed and it is kept free of weeds.
The basil develops best if the soil is enriched with chemical fertilizers. For this purpose, at the same time with the deep summer or autumn ploughing, the soil receives around 50-60 kg/ha of phosphor and 30-35 kg/ha of potassium. Also, in spring, during the first works for planting basil, it is administrated 50-80 kg/ha of nitrogen. The use of well fermented or unfermented manure is not suitable for the basil culture because it has a bad influence upon the oil’s quality.
In spring, until planting, the soil is worked with the cultivator or the disc to keep it aired, without crust or weeds and in this way to conserve the humidity. The seeding is done with the seeding machine at a distance of 45 cm between rows. For one hectare are used 5-6 kg of seeds that are planted 1-1,5 cm deep. After seeding the land is leveled with a roller-harrow. The best time for seeding is after 15-20 days after spring started in the years with high humidity and after 10-12 days in the years with little humidity (around 10-15 April).
The basil also multiplies through seedlings obtained in warm or half warm seed beds. Usually, the seedlings can be obtained starting from the second half of March until the end of April.
The necessary time for the plants to grow in the hotbeds is about 35-45 days and during this period the plants reach 6-7 cm in height. To obtain the plants necessary for one hectare of culture are used 0,300 kg of seeds with a germinal value of 70% and a 97% purity, which are seeded on 60 m² of warm or half warm seed beds.
The earth used for the seed beds will be black earth, which will be mixed with ¼ well rotten garden soils. After preparing the nutritional bed, the basil is seeded and covered with a layer of earth well strained and 0,5-1 cm thick.
It is easily watered, using a sprinkle with fine holes. After the plants emerge, the weeds are extirpated. In the field, 1-2 seedlings are put in one nest, 25-30 cm between the nests and 45 cm distance between the rows. The maintenance works must be executed continuously in order to destroy the crust, weeds and to always maintain the soil aired and clean.
The production estimation is done after the same method as for the raw peppermint. The harvesting moment is after 4-5 days from the first flowering.
From the basil are harvested the aerial parts of the plant up to 3 times a year. The harvesting is done with a knife or a sickle, when the flowering starts, by cutting the plant 8-12 cm above the ground.
The seeds are collected from healthy, well developed plants with a lot of inflorescences. When 50% of the inflorescences reach maturity, the plants are harvested like grass and they are dried in the sun on canvasses, mats to avoid losing the seeds.
Disease, pests and means of control: In our country, the basil has been cultivated on larger surfaces in the past few years and up to now not many pests have been reported. Still, it was observed that it is attacked by the dodder and bacteriosis. The dodder is controlled by the usual means, specifically agro-technical works. The bacteriosis attacks the leaves and stem of the basil, leaving behind brown spots which cause the plant to wither and die. If the harvest is destined for oil extraction, this disease is controlled by using the Bordeaux mixture 0,5-1 concentration. This method is not allowed if the plants are to be used in direct treatment or for tea. In this case, the disease is controlled by performing agro-technical works and by collecting the diseased plants and burning them.
Preparing the basil for conditioning: The harvested plants are naturally dried in a thin layer, in the shade and in places with a lot of air. When artificially dried, the temperature must not exceed 35°C. During the drying, the product is not turned. The drying efficiency is around 6/1.
The technical conditions for reception require that the product is formed out of stems and flowered branches, admitting as impurities max. 0,5% brown leaves and max. 0,5% mineral and organic foreign bodies and max. 13% humidity. For the fresh product intended for oil extraction, the technical conditions for reception are identical with the ones for the peppermint.
Chemical structure: Volatile oil (0,10-0,20%) with a different chemical structure depending on the chemo type from which it derives: linalool, mehylcavicol or estragol, cineol, camphor, α-pinene, methyl cinamat, eugenol, oleanolic acid, anethole, triterpenoid saponosides, tanoid etc. The seeds are rich in mucilage.
Pharmaceutical actions – therapeutic uses: It is little studied from a pharmaceutical point of view. It is empirically used in gastro-intestinal disorders, also as a digestion stimulant, as a diuretic or in inflammations of the airways. The volatile oil has antimicrobial and antifungal properties. It is used in the perfume industry.
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