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AbstractTo find out the influence of harvesting height on essential oil yield and composition, three Ocimumspecies viz. O. basilicumL., O. kilimandscharicumGuerke and O. tenuiflorumL., were harvested at different heights in foothills agroclimatic conditions of north India. Three cut heights viz. top 1/3rd; top 2/3rd and whole plant were carried for the experiment in respective species and their chemotypes. The essential oil yield was reported to be higher in top 1/3rd harvested part of studied Ocimumspp. Altogether, 86 constituents, representing 89.2 - 99.9 % of the essential oil composition were identified by GC(RI) and GC-MS. Monoterpenoids (4.4 -90.4 %) and phenylpropanoids (61.4 -88.9 %) were the major class of constituents distributed in studied Ocimumspp. Significant variations in essential oil yield and composition, in terms of the content of marker constituents, were observed due to different harvesting heights in studied Ocimumspp.