biostudies-literatureGhareeb YETaif UniversityKing Faisal UniversityPrincess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University2940https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9653700biostudies-literatureUnknown11(21)Chamomile (<i>Matricariarecutita</i> L.) is one of the most important medicinal plants with various applications. The flowers and flower heads are the main organs inthe production of essential oil. The essential improvement goals of chamomile are considered to be high flower yield and oil content, as well asthe suitability for mechanical harvesting. The present study aimed to improve the flower yield, oil content and mechanical harvestability of German chamomile via chemical and physical mutagens. Three German chamomile populations (Fayum, Benysuif and Menia) were irradiated with 100, 200, 300 and 400 Gray doses of gamma rays, as well as chemically mutagenized using 0.001, 0.002 and 0.003 mol/mL of sodium azide for 4 h. The two mutagens produced a wide range of changes in the flowers' shapPlants (Basel, Switzerland)Improvement of German Chamomile (<i>Matricaria recutita</i> L.) for Mechanical Harvesting, High Flower Yield and Essential Oil Content Using Physical and Chemical Mutagenesis.PMC9653700Project No. GRANT805PNURSP2022R318TURSP-2020/111Hassanin AASafhi FAEl-Moneim DAGhareeb YEAbdelkader MAAbdel Latef AAHAl-Khayri JMALshamrani SMHassan MAAwad MFSoliman SSIsmail TAfalseImprovement of German Chamomile (<i>Matricaria recutita</i> L.) for Mechanical Harvesting, High Flower Yield and Essential Oil Content Using Physical and Chemical Mutagenesis.Chamomile (<i>Matricariarecutita</i> L.) is one of the most important medicinal plants with various applications. The flowers and flower heads are the main organs inthe production of essential oil. The essential improvement goals of chamomile are considered to be high flower yield and oil content, as well asthe suitability for mechanical harvesting. The present study aimed to improve the flower yield, oil content and mechanical harvestability of German chamomile via chemical and physical mutagens. Three German chamomile populations (Fayum, Benysuif and Menia) were irradiated with 100, 200, 300 and 400 Gray doses of gamma rays, as well as chemically mutagenized using 0.001, 0.002 and 0.003 mol/mL of sodium azide for 4 h. The two mutagens produced a wide range of changes in the flowers' shap2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Nov2025-04-25T23:33:06.927Z2025-04-06T09:26:41.199ZS-EPMC96537003636539410.3390/plants11212940