SummarySweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is a warm climate plant. The optimum temperature for growth is 25°C and, at this temperature, the volatile oil content of leaves is enhanced. Plants grown at 25°C for 2 weeks were taller and had a higher dry matter content and larger leaves than plants grown at other temperatures. The total volatile oil contents in fresh leaves from plants grown at 25°C or 30°C for 2 weeks were three times the levels found in leaves of plants grown at 15°C. Temperature also affected the composition of the volatile oils. Warm conditions (25°C) resulted in the accumulation of eugenol and cis-ocimene, whereas cooler temperature (15°C) resulted in more camphor and trans- farnesene. There was no effect of temperature on the relative contents of 1,8-cineole and linalool. Treatments with alternating temperatures, that supplied the same accumulated ‘day-degrees’ but with a different sequence of temperatures, did not affect most plant growth parameters. In contrast, volatile oil content and composition were strongly affected by the temperature regime during the final 2 weeks of growth. For example, the higher the temperature before harvesting, the higher the volatile oil content and the greater the relative content of eugenol.
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Chang et al. (2005) studied this question.