Cultivation of Dill (Anethum graveolens L.) with different row arrangements

Dill (Anethum graveolens L.) is an annual plant from Umbelliferae. Although in cookery also sprouts and tender leaves are used, the drug from Dill is represented by the scented fruits (“seeds”), largely used for flavouring conserved foods and liqueurs, but also by herbal and cosmetic industry. In this work, we present the results of a trial performed in Sicily, putting under comparison four row arrangements: CR30 (continuous rows 30 cm apart); CR60 (continuous rows 60 cm apart), CR90 (continuous rows 90 cm apart) and TR (twin rows with a distance of 30 cm inside and 60 cm between twin rows). Being constant the plant population on row (12 plants m-1), the plant density per unit area changed consequently to 40, 20, 13.3 and 26.6 plants m-2, respectively. Seeds yield, ranging from more than 2 to less than 0.8 t ha-1, seemed to vary according to plant population, but in the different treatments many differences showed up in yield components and plant geometry.