Medicinal and aromatic plants
Research on medicinal and aromatic plants is a key focus of our institute. There are many different plants belonging to this field, at the moment our projects focus a lot on different mints. Main topics include the amelioration of cultivation practices as well as improving quality, for example during drying processes.
Main research topics
Cultivation practice
Many aromatic and medicinal crops are cultivated for ancient times but still represent only a minor part of agriculture. There are questions left concercing seeding, nutrition, weed, pest and disease management as well as questions around harvest and postharvest processing.
Postharvest management and drying
Postharvest processing has a major influence on product quality. Especially drying is a critical point in conserving quality parameters. This is why our research investigates the drying influence on structure, colour and valuable compounds of medicinal plants.
Biodiversity
There are lots of medicinal plants with flowers that provide pollen and nectar for flower visiting insects and pollinators. Therefore, we study the effects of different medicinal plants on insect diversity and also yield effects.
Current research projects
Amobila
Arzneipflanzenanbau als Instrument einer modernen, ertragsorientierten und zugleich biodiversitätsfördernden Landwirtschaft; Teilvorhaben 2: Erhöhung der Ökosystemleistung im Praxisanbau
More info: www.amobila.de
QuaTro
Sustainable drying of medicinal plants for quality improvements
The project’s primary goal is to research sustainable drying processes of medicinal and aromatic plants, emphasizing on product quality, energy and economic efficiency. Challenges caused by competitors from abroad, climate change and rising energy costs lead to the need for local products to stand out by product quality (color, flavor, active substances) and resource-efficient production. This is why the project deals with drying and pre-drying processes using modern heat pump technologies. It aims to identify aspects that improve the effects of drying on the product quality of the model crops mint, tea-hortensia and Chinese blackberry. One of the innovative aspects is the development of specific analysis tools for volatile (essential oils) and non-volatile (taste modifying) substances that include near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). For reducing energy input during drying, several different operating scenarios will be calculated such as the heat-pump technology or partial air recirculation. This will be connected to the economic costs and quality parameters to build a final pamphlet with recommendations for drying processes on a farm level.
Mohnlandschaften
The resarch project REGIO-Mohn (2018-2021) produced a picture galery called MohnLandschaften. This initiative was supported by INRES Renewable Resources, Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU), OCS Vollkorn-Mühlenbäckerei GmbH and Ölmühle Solling. The idea was continued in 2023 and the results can be seen here.
