Effect of methyl jasmonate on essential oil content and composition of Agastache foeniculum

The effect of methyl jasmonate (MeJa) on essential oil content and composition of Agastache foeniculum was investigated. Two experiments were carried out under a hydroponic system. In the first experiment, the plants were subjected to different concentrations of MeJa (0, 0.1 and 1 mM) for 24 h. MeJa at concentration of 0.1 mM significantly increased essential oil percentage after 24 h of treatments (1.51%) compared with other concentrations. However, different concentrations of MeJa did significantly affect the proportion of the various components after 24 h of treatment. In the second experiment, the plants were treated with 0.1 mM MeJa for 48 and 72 h. The MeJa treated plants showed higher amount of essential oil content after 48 h (2.42%) and 72 h (1.92%) of treatment compared with control plants of those time. The highest amount of methylchavicol (97.6%) was accumulated in the plants treated with 0.1 mM MeJa for 48 h. Results of the study show that MeJa may act as an elicitor in A. foeniculum .