Hybrid mint plant named ‘Neerkalka’

Details Hybrid mint plant named ‘Neerkalka’ Hybrid mint plant named ‘Neerkalka’

1998-09-02

2001-08-07

Campell, Bruce R. (Department: 1661)

Plants

Rose

Climber

Plant Patent

active

PP012030

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a new and distinct interspecific hybrid mint plant namely ‘Neerkala’ which is developed by sexual crossing between improved
Mentha arvensis
(cv Kalka) and
Mentha spicata
(cv Neera). The hybrid is propagated vegetatively by suckers or stem cutting and is stable for commercial cultivation.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Plants of the mint species are cultivated world wide for their specific mint aroma, which find uses in the culinary, antiseptic, confectionery and flavoring purposes. The distinct taste and aroma originating from the essential oils of different species in Mentha genus determine their specific use. The natural cross compatibility occurs between the species although manual emasculation and pollination is impeded due to extremely small size of the florets.
Mentha cardiaca
seems to have originated as a naturally occuring species believed to originate from the hybridization of
M. arvensis
and
M. spicata. Mentha arvensis
which is cultivated for mint oil has several widely adopted cultivars with superior agronomic traits. The variety ‘Kalka’ is one of the best cultivars grown widely by the farmers of India. Similarly,
Mentha spicata
cultivars released by Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow, India, are widely adopted by the farmers for superior spearmint oil quality. One such cultivar is
Mentha spicata
‘Neera’ or CIMAP/‘Neera’ which is distinctly different in its RAPD pattern from other available genotypes/varieties. It is known for its profuse flowering and seed setting habit. As such, the Applicants have combined the characters of these two mint species (
Mentha arvensis
and
Mentha spicata
) and developed a hybrid herb (
Mentha arvensis×M. spicata
) ‘Neerkalka’ which has high yield, desirable oil quality for various herbal uses like chewing gums, toothpaste etc. The selected hybrid clone retains the profuse growth habit of
Mentha arvensis
simultaneously expressing the “carvone type” mint oil characteristics of
Mentha spicata
and possesses the phenotype tending towards another naturally occuring species believed to originate from the hybridization of
M. arvensis
and
M. spicata
. The hybrid plant is more commercially acceptable due to its more favorable argonomic traits.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention provides stable commercially cultivable hybrid mint plant ‘Neerkalka’ providing high herb yield, high oil yield and spearmint oil type with menthol tinge, which plant is developed by sexual crossing between improved
Mentha arvensis
(cv Kalka) and
Mentha spicata
(cv Neera).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The interspecific hybrid ‘Neerkalka’ has been developed by the Applicants by pollinating
Mentha arvensis
(cv Kalka) with pollen from
Mentha spicata
(cv Neera). The Applicants planted the parent plants
Mentha arvensis
(cv Kalka) and
Mentha spicata
(cv Neera) in alternate rows to favor crossing between them. The flowers of
Mentha arvensis
were dusted with the pollen collected from
Mentha spicata
flowers at regular intervals. The Applicants intention was to combine the better growth, menthol smell and disease resistance characters of Japanese mint with the carvone smell of spearmint to create a novel oil quality which can be more acceptable in pharmaceutical as well as confectionery industries. The mint species used as parents, were selected from the varieties already released by CIMAP and well accepted by the farmers and industries. The plants were grown at Pantnagar, India, in plots of 5 m×5 m. As the hybrid can reproduce vegetatively by vigorous suckers and the genotypic characters are firmly fixed, the genotype can be of immense importance as improved variety. Hence, the novelty of the invention is that the hybrid was developed from improved varieties of CIMAP which are well characterized for their genotypes. The hybrid plant thus produced has more biomass and oil yield (carvone based) than the parent
Mentha spicata
and the natural hybrid
Mentha cardiaca. The hybrid plant ‘Neerkalka’ is the distinct hybrid developed by the inventors through sexual crossing between female parent
Mentha arvensis
(cv Kalka) and pollen donor
Mentha spicata
(cv Neera) whereas
Mentha cardiaca
(Syn.
Mentha gracilis
cv Cardiaca) is believed to have originated in nature by natural crossing between
Mentha arvensis
and
Mentha spicata
. In other words, the rationale behind the present invention was to combine the characters of two known mint species available with them, in a directed manner to yield a plant of high herb yield, high oil yield and spearmint oil type with menthol tinge.
Accordingly, the invention provides a novel hybrid plant
Mentha arvensis×M. spicata
‘Neerkalka’ having the following combination of characters:
a. The said hybrid is a cross between female parent
Mentha arvensis
(cv Kalka) and pollen donor
Mentha spicata
(cv Neera),
b. The said hybrid is tolerant to leaf spot, rust and powdery mildew diseases,
c. The said hybrid contains both menthol and carvone in the essential oil,
d. The said hybrid produces more biomass and oil in comparison to
Mentha spicata
and
Mentha cardiaca
cultivars ‘Neera’ and ‘MCAS 2’,
e. The hybrid genotype has a unique RAPD profile, and
f. It has a pleasant smell of both carvone and menthol useful in medicinal and aromatic preparations.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a hybrid yielding spearmint oil having the following ingredients: Limolene (6.8-23.2%), Menthol (0.66-2.45%), Carvone (64.0-76.1%) and other unidentified fractions in the essential oil totaling to 100%.

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