Roses for Essential Oil extractionPaperback, 18 August 2010

Most of the rose species are used for ornamental purposes. However, a few of them exhibit the marked fragrance that is sought by perfumeries around the world. In present study four Rosa species i.e., Rosa species, Rosa damascena, Rosa centifolia, Rosa borboniana and Rosa 'Gruss an Teplitz' were used for essential oil through solvent extraction and hydro distillation.Rosa centifolia performed excellently under Faisalabad climatic conditions and produced fabulous flowering throughout the year. From the results it was recorded that a single plant of Rosa centifolia produced almost 500 fragrant flowers/year. This character of Rosa centifolia made it distinct from other species of roses. Most of the roses did not produced flowering throughout the year, with the increase in temperature there was a decrease in flower production. There was variation in quality and quantity of essential oil between different species of Rosa, and in compositions of main components. Among the species, Rosa damascena contained the highest quality and gave highest oil yield but it is not a viable option for farmers as it flowering duration is very short i.e only 50-60 days.