ACTUAL AND CONTEMPORARY DIRECTIONS OF BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH OF OIL-BEARING AROMATIC PLANTS (REVIEW, PART II). ANALYSIS OF THE CONTENT AND COMPONENT COMPOSITION OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL IN PLANTS FOR THE PURPOSE OF BREEDING AND SEED GROWING
In the second part of the review that concerned actual and contemporary directions of biochemical research of oil-bearing plants, we discussed the examples and justified the necessity to determine the content and component composition of essential oil in the breeding material at all stages of breeding and selection processes. Collection material, initial material and breeding samples created during experimental works were subject to analysis, as well as varietal samples at the stage of competitive variety testing until transferring them to the State Sort Commission of the Russian Federation for its registration and inclusion into the State Register of Breeding Achievements Approved for Use. In the process of selection (breeding) studies, it is necessary to study the peculiarities of the accumulation of essential oil and changes in its component composition at different stages of plant development; in the whole plant and in its organs separately; identification of the most valuable chemotypes; comparative analysis of these indicators in the studied samples. Biochemical analyses (tests) that are necessary to identify the optimal stage of raw materials processing, which in turn ensures maximum yield of high-quality essential oil, are very important for recommending the most effective methods of industrial cultivation of essential oil varieties. Control of the content and component composition of the essential oil is mandatory when maintaining the preliminary seed growing production of supported varieties of essential oil crops.