Nova Scotia Agricultural College 

Agricultural Research Smells Sweet

Some areas of agricultural research smell better than others. At the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC), M.Sc. student Kelly Bowes is lucky to be studying aromatic crops. She says that she enjoys the smell of her fields of dill, fennel, coriander and basil, although the smell of dill is an appetite stimulant which makes her hungry. Under the supervision of Dr. Valtcho Jeliazkov, Kelly is studying the feasibility of growing aromatic plants as cash crops in Nova Scotia.

Aromatic crops are highly fragrant plants from a wide variety of plant families. Most aromatic plants produce essential oils from glandular cells throughout the plant. Essential oils vary in chemical composition depending on the type of plant, the growing conditions, the planting and harvesting methods, and the part of the plant from which the essential oils are extracted. These scented oils are easily transportable and can be stored for long periods of time at room temperature. Recent marketing studies have shown that essential oils are worth $US7.4 billion in global exports.

One of Kelly's main objectives is to test whether 11 different varieties of dill, fennel, coriander and basil can be grown to technical maturity in the Nova Scotian climate and can produce essential oils of acceptable quantity and quality. Kelly is growing aromatic crops in field plots at NSAC, in Truro, and at Lyndhurst Farm, in Canning, to test the effects of location, planting date, harvesting date and variety on the resulting yield of oil and plant matter. She is also growing aromatic crops in containers in the greenhouse facilities at NSAC in order to test 35 herbicides for their ability to control weeds without causing damage to the crops.

Essential oils have a mind-boggling number of uses. Traditionally, they are used for flavouring and aroma in foods, but they also add fragrance to cosmetic products, disguise the taste of medicines, and flavour liqueurs and tobacco products. A growing interest in alternative medicine has revealed numerous therapeutic uses of essential oils. Research indicates that essential oils in this study make excellent organic insecticides, inhibit the growth of sprouts in potatoes, and repress the growth of fungi.

The aromatic plants themselves also have a number of uses. After extraction of the essential oils, the remaining plant material may be used as animal feed. Dr. Jeliazkov is doing ground-breaking research into the growth of aromatic crops on contaminated land in order to remove heavy metals from the soil. Aromatic crops also provide an additional crop for farmers to add to existing crop rotations, thus improving the environmental sustainability of farming in the region.

Despite a drought last year, Kelly obtained excellent yields of both plant matter and essential oils. Although aromatic crops are traditionally grown in Mediterranean climates, these preliminary results indicate that the Nova Scotian climate will not be an obstacle to their development as a new cash crop. As a new cash crop, it is hoped that aromatic crops will improve economic and environmental sustainability of farming in Atlantic Canada and give a considerable boost to the region's economy.

*Kelly Bowes is conducting her research with funding from an NSERC Industrial Postgraduate Scholarship. Peter Peill, President of Lyndhurst Farm, kindly donated the use of land in Canning for the study.

By Mara Gerriets
NSERC SPARK Intern (Students Promoting Awareness of Research Knowledge)
Research and Graduate Studies Office, Nova Scotia Agricultural College
June 25, 2002

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