Doğal Yayılış Gösteren Coridothymus capitatus L. Genotiplerinde Diurnal Varyabilitenin Verim ve Kaliteye Etkisi

C oridothymus capitatus L., a characteristic plant of the Mediterranean basin, arranges into pure populations that are prevalent within maquis spreads and among the seashore frigana in Western and Southern regions of the Anatolian peninsula. The present study aims to determine the optimal time of harvest based on diurnal variation for Coridothymus capitatus L., a thyme species picked from the wild within the province of Aydin, during full bloom when the essential oil content of the plant is at its highest. The study was conducted on the Coridothymus capitatus L. genotypes that were prevalent in the Southern Campus of Adnan Menderes University in 2012. The volatile oil content determined form 8 different harvests collected throughout the harvesting period of 06:00-20:00 within a single day for the 25 different genotypes that were selected and numerically designated based on their phenotypic characteristics revealed a broad range of variation both among different genotypes and among different times of harvesting establishing the presence of diurnal variation. The highest essential oil content was determined as 4.99% during the 06:00 harvest of Coridothymus capitatus L. and the lowest essential oil content of 4.51% was determined during the period of highest temperature and lowest humidity. Carvacrol was determined as the main constituent of all four genotypes that had the highest volatile oil ratio under investigation and the content was determined to vary in the range of 42.8787.38%