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Mentha species belongs to Lamiaceae family is an important industrial crop, cultivated commercially on large scale. In this study, a common cultivar of M. arvensis with a high essential oil content (Cim Kranti) was investigated to determine the impact of drying techniques for 10 days immediately following harvest on the essential oil content and its chemical profile under three conditions: open field (S1), shade (S2), and ventilated chamber (S3). According to results, significantly higher essential oil (0.723%) with 77.58 % of menthol content was observed in freshly harvested crop on same /1st day of harvest (T1) than any other conditions. M. arvensis was harvested and drying in open field condition (S1) has showed 0.68% of essential oil having rich amount of menthol (76.86 % ) content on fresh sample (T1) which decline to 0.51% essential oil content with menthol content 76.88% at 10th days after harvest. M. arvensis dying in ventilated room (S3) showed essential oil (0.71%) and menthol content 76.58 % on same day of harvest, which later decreases upto 0.6% essential oil with menthol content 74.32% on 10th day after harvest. Results concluded that the best quality and high yield of essential oil of M. arvensis should willingly be distilled fresh just after harvest. It also indicates that postharvest processes should immediately followed harvesting with appropriate drying method to minimize the loss of high quality essential oil.

Cannabis, also known as marijuana or hemp, has been utilized since ancient times for industrial, religious, recreational, and medical uses. However, regardless of the intended use, there are legal requirements for quantitative testing of cannabinoids across the supply chains. This investigation aimed to evaluate the genetic diversity of 54 Cannabis samples collected from tropical and subtropical regions in India. The research found a high genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV), phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV), heritability, and genetic advance for total cannabidiol (CBD) content. The genotypic and phenotypic correlation among the morpho-chemical characters revealed strong positive correlations among most characters. Clustering and Principal component analysis identified three accessions in cluster II (CIM-CS-65, CIM-CS-189 & CIM-CS-64) with high CBD content that could be used for breeding and as sources of high CBD content in Cannabis. CIM-CS-64, with its high CBD content with 0.01%THC content, holds potential as a valuable parental line for utilization in hybridization programs and recombinant breeding. Furthermore, in accordance with the NDPC Act of 1985, CIM-CS-64 can be commercialized for medicinal purposes, making it a promising source for the development of medicinal CBD products., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)