ANNUAL CARAWAY ESSENTIAL OIL COMPOSITION GROWN IN ORGANIC AND CONVENTIONAL GROWING SYSTEMS

Caraway is grown for its essential oil content, which is present in the whole plant, but the concentration is highest in the fruits. The annual caraway seed (Carum carvi L.) was grown in different environmental conditions on three localities in the Vojvodina province, Serbia, during the year 2011. The field experiment in a randomized block design included: control (without applying fertilizers), organic (Slavol, Bactofil B-10, Royal Ofert biohumus and vermicompost) and conventional (NPK) crop systems. Ripe dried seed was crushed and distilled for its essential oil by a Clevenger-type apparatus. The oil quality was assessed through analysis by combined gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Caraway fruit contains 2.66-4.94% essential oil consisting of 22 compounds, from which limonene and carvone account for the main portion (above 98%). The highest content of limonene was from the field fertilized by vermicompost (57.26%), and the lowest from the control field (54.14%). Conversely, the highest content of carvone was from the control field (44.31%), and the lowest from the field fertilized by vermicompost (40.78%). From this experiment it can be concluded that the relationship between limonene and carvone has a negative correlation.