Origine du dépérissement de la camomille romaine | Causes for the decline of roman chamomille
2012
Pillonel, N. | Fischer, S. | Baroffio, C., Station de recherche Agroscope Changins-Waedenswil ACW, Nyon (Switzerland)
Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) is a perennial plant cultivated in the La Côte area (Vaud, Switzerland), for essential oil production. Since a few years, more and more fields show a mediocre vegetation re-start at Springtime, inducing plants’ progressive weakening and decline. In addition to the yield loss, essential oil quality decreases. A study was conducted in 2011 to identify the possible causes of this syndrome, focusing on three aspects: water stress, weeds influence and pest insects impact. Several causes seem to generate the phenomenon. Comparative tests in containers showed a relatively high sensitivity of roman chamomile to lack of water. Cultures are mostly not irrigated and certainly suffered from recurrent water shortfall during the past years. German chamomile (Matricaria recutita) is a concerning weed: very competitive and difficult to control, it becomes more and more present. Black medic (Medicago lupulina) forms scattered but very dense colonization zones, quickly excluding Roman chamomile. Among pests, the chrysomelid (Chrysolina marginata) severely contributes to plants’ decline by attacking the new emerged leaves at the end of the winter. The detection of these factors allows the setting of preventive and curative strategies to ensure economic viability of chamomile essential oil production.
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