Assessment of the horticultural significance of lesser known jasmine (Jasminum spp.) wealth

Less exploited jasmine species collected from various sources were evaluated for their horticultural significance with respect to the flowering duration, flower yield and consumer preference. The research trial was laid out in Randomized Block Design involving eleven jasmine types belonging to ten Jasminum species grown under open field conditions. Performance of the seven lesser known jasmine species namely J. multiflorum (two clonal selections Acc. JM-2 and Acc. JM-1 from germplasm), J. nitidum (one clonal selection Acc. JN-1 from germplasm), J. calophyllum, J. flexile, J. rigidum, J. primulinum and J. arborescens was assessed in comparison with the three commercial jasmine species viz., J. sambac (Ramanathapuram Gundumalli), J. grandiflorum (CO.1 Jathimalli) and J. auriculatum (CO.1 Mullai). Among the lesser known species, J. multiflorum was treated as an ‘underexploited ’species since it is under commercial cultivation in the state Karnataka but not in Tamil Nadu. The other six lesser known species were categorized as ‘unexploited ’species since they are not under commercial cultivation. The results of the present study have indicated that of the eight lesser known jasmine types evaluated, six types (J. multiflorum [Acc. JM.1], J. multiflorum [Acc. JM.2], J. nitidum [Acc. JN.1], J. calophyllum, J. flexile and J. rigidum) possessed year-round flowering potential. However, of these six, only three, namely, J. multiflorum (Acc. JM-1), J. multiflorum (Acc. JM-2) and J. nitidum (Acc. JN-1) exhibited superior performance for flower yielding potential and consumer preference. Jasmine trade is predominantly dependant on the three commercial species J. sambac, J. grandiflorum and J. auriculatum based on their consumer preference. However, there is a market gap during the off season (November to April) during which these species do not produce economic flower yields. The present study has opened up the scope for introducing J. nitidum (Acc. JN-1) and J. multiflorum (Acc. JM.1 and Acc. JM-2) as potential alternative jasmine types, particularly to fill up the void created by the commercially cultivated species during off-season. The study has also revealed the scope of promoting the other unexploited species namely J. flexile and J. calophyllum for cultivation for loose flowers as well as utilizing all these lesser known jasmine species including J. rigidum in jasmine improvement programmes.