Cultivation trials of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) in a semi-arid Mediterranean environment

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L. - family Apiaceae) fruits, commonly called "seeds," are used all over the world for flavouring many foods items. Unfortunately, most information about cropping techniques of coriander come from markedly different environments from the Mediterranean ones; it is worth, therefore, examining some of the most important aspects of this topic. In order to evaluate the possibility to grow coriander under semi-arid Mediterranean environments a field trial was performed in 1998/99 and 1999/2000. In both years, the experimental field was located in Sparacia (Cammarata - AG - Sicily). Coriander was sown, in rows 50 cm apart on December 4(th), 1998 and December 7(th), 1999. The harvest of seeds was performed in both years from the 10(th) to 20(th) of June, after reaching a thermic sum of 1586 and 1714 GDD (Growth Degree Days) respectively. Despite the very low rainfall (229 and 261 mm from sowing time to harvest in both years) the fruit yields were rather satisfactory, reaching 581.3 and 970.6 kg ha(-1) (dry mass). In the case of the volatile oils the most important compounds detected in the fruits were linalool (24.8 to 31.7%), a-pinene (27.5 to 26.1%) and gamma-terpinene (21.9 to 23.0%).