Anethum graveolens - Dill / Sowa

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Economic Value

		The more pungent Indian variety,
		"Sowa Dill" is an essential ingredient in curry.
		Dill is one of the principal flavoring
		agent in, potato salads, egg salads, fish sauses, breads, soups, sauerkraut, vinegars, etc. Dill is commonly used for flavoring pickles.
		Fresh leaves can be eaten raw in
		salads or cooked. Dried or freshly chopped dill leaves are used for broiled or fried meats, in sandwiches, and in fish sauces - gravlax (pickled salmon)
		Dill oil used as flavouring in food
		industry and also to perfume soaps.
		It is an attractive plant for flower
		borders in gardens. It is grown as a companion crop with cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce, maize and onions.
		The foliage is an important source
		of food for larvae in butterfly gardens (the only larval food plant for the caterpillars of the "black swallow-tail butterfly").
		The young plant will help to deter
		carrot root fly.
		Caravone is useful for the
		preparation of dill oil to treat gastric disorers.

Anethum graveolens - Dill/Sowa

“As the ongoing industrial crusade to turn all earthly life to commercial purpose relentlessly impoverishes the biosphere and human
culture, our living images of graceful possibility dwindle.” - Stephanie Mills

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Crop Details

Botanical Name: Anethum graveolens

Common Name: Dill or sowa

Family: Apiaceae

Cultivars: Dukat, Bouquet, Fern leaf, Long Island Mammoth, Sowa, Ting, Indian Dill,
European Dill, etc.

Origin: South-western & Central Asia (Mediterranean Basin)

Distribution: Europe, Africa, Northern US, Russia, India, etc.

Habitat: Cultivated farm lands

Habit: Strong smelling herb (3-5 feet height)

Duration: Annual (Rabi crop)

Leaf: Finely divided lacy, blue-green soft & delicate leaves. The leaves are about 1 ft
long and divided pinnately three or four times into threadlike segments .

Flower: White to yellow flowers borne in compound umbels

Flowering Season: April to July

Fruit: Flattened pod

Sunlight: Full Sun

Water Requirement: Moderate

Soil Texture: Sandy to loamy soils

Soil pH: Acidic, neutral and alkaline soils (5.3 to 7.8)

Salinity Tolerance: High

Propagation: Seed

Cultural Practices: Shelter from wind is required, the plant quickly runs to seed in dry
weather, the plant is very intolerant of root disturbance and should not be transplanted
because it will then quickly run to seed.

Economic Part: Leaf, stem, seed (dill)

Crop Yield: 400 kg fruit/acre or 10 lt dill oil/acre

Chemistry: Saturated fatty acids, phytosterol , calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium,
sodium, potassium, zinc, vitamin A, thiamine and riboflavin. The chief ingredient in dill is
d-carvone. The toxic chemical in dill oil is dillapiole.

Caution: Dill contains 'psychotroph' myristicine andl can cause photosensitivity or
dermatitis in some people. Dill inhibits the growth of carrot if grown as a companion
crop. The toxic chemical dillapiole should be removed from dill oil before its use.

Next to: Celery

Back to: Lemon verbena

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For Advanced Reading:

www.floridata.com - Anethum graveolens
www.uni-graz.at - Dill
www.gardenguides.com - Dill
www.pfaf.org - Anethum graveolens
www.ibiblio.org - Anethum graveolens

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		The effectiveness of the insecticides can be improved by the addition
		of d-caravone, an ingredient of dill oil.
		The plant pollen attracts lace-wings and syrphid flies whose larvae prey on plant
		sucking aphids, thus helps in biological control of crop pests.
		Chewing the seed improves bad breath.The dried flower heads are used in floral
		arrangements.The seed is carminative, , galactogogue, stimulant and stomachic.
		The essential oil in the seed relieves intestinal spasms and griping, helping to
		settle colic problems. The name dill is thought to have originated from a Norse or Anglo-Saxon word 'dylle' meaning to soothe or lull, the plant having the carminative property of relieving gas.
		Dill is used to get relief from cold, cough, and flu.
		Dill will also help to increase the flow of milk in nursing mothers and will then be
		taken by the baby in the milk to help prevent digestive ailments.
		In the Middle Ages it was thought to protect against witchcraft.