Abstract
Exports of local fennel (
Foeniculum vulgare
Mill.) from Egypt in last years have been affected due to its high estragole but low anethole contents in the oil. Therefore, fennel seeds were imported from different countries to investigate the adaptability of such strains in different locations in Egypt in comparison with the local one.
The obtained results indicated that Holland fennel surpassed other fennel strains under study, as it showed the best growth in terms of number of umbels, seed production, seed oil (%) and oil production per plant and unit area. The seed oil of this strain had the highest content of anethole (75.93% in average) and low estragole percentage (4.22%). The Indian strain showed poor characters. The German strain although contained high oil percentage, but the oil yield/plant or/unit area were poor.
Menia location led to the best characters for Holland, Indian, Florence and local fennel however, it did not favor the growth of the German strain. It would be recommended to cultivate the Holland fennel strain at Menia to obtain the best growth and oil yield and characters.