862 PB 541 VARIATION IN MINT GERMPLASM FOR CHEMICAL COMPOSITION

Thirty-five mint accessions were evaluated during 1993 for agronomic characteristics (leaf texture, color, and pubescence), plant vigor, cold hardiness, insect population interactions, and contents of essential oils, ash, and total protein. These accessions were obtained from National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Corvallis, Oregon during 1992. The rhizomes were planted in the greenhouse on April 2, 1992 and transplanted to the field on May 29, 1992 as a randomized complete block design with three replications. The chemical composition data from whole plants indicated that ash content was dependent upon location from which an accession was collected, ploidy level (diploid vs. polyploid), type of mint (peppermint vs. spearmint), and genetics (hybrid vs. non-hybrid). Diploid accessions had significantly higher essential oil content. The protein content was higher in peppermint types than spearmint types. The hybrid accessions had lower protein content in comparison to non-hybrids.