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SUMMARY
Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) is one of the leading herb crops, used fresh or dry. Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxyporum, is a severe problem in Israel, as well as in Europe and the USA. It causes stunting, browning of vascular tissues, severe wilting without chlorosis and defoliation of the plants. In the summer of 1992 we identified several isolates of Fusarium oxyporum f.sp. basilicum originating from the stems of diseased plants of greenhouse-grown sweet basil (O. basilicum L.). Plants of a commercial variety in an infected field, with no symptoms, were selected for self-breeding as a source of seeds with resistant germplasm. Further selection tests were conducted in the greenhouse on infested soil in order to improve resistance up to five generations. This work has resulted in a registered variety resistant to Fusarium wilt (‘Nufar’). All ‘Nufar’ individuals and F1 individuals obtained from the cross of ‘Nufar’ × susceptible source plants were resistant to Fusarium wilt. In further studies we found that this resistance is a monogenic dominant trait. At present, fresh market varieties resistant to Fusarium, with good yields and performance, as well as acceptable leaf-size, shape and shelf life, are being developed and examined for their aroma. The variability in the essential oil composition of the culinary genetic lines are shown and discussed.
