The book has chapters on 16 aromatic crops on different aspects of genotypic & genetic variability, cytogenetics and various breeding procedures (conventional & unconventional), varietal achievements etc. needed for generation of new and further improvement of the already released varieties in view of great significance from cosmetic, perfumery, aromatherapy, bio-pesticide and certain medical industries point of view. Besides, it has chapters on other aspects of equally importance viz. significance of plant genetic resource, quality importance, extraction methods of essential oils and post-harvest management of aromatic plants to enhance the fruitfulness of the book.

The book will be further revised from time to time for its improvement by adding the latest information on research findings available, making it of immense use in future for students.

Pritam Kumar Verma, Former Professor, Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar (Haryana) obtained his B.Sc. (Hons.) Agriculture and M.Sc. (Agri.) in the discipline of Plant Breeding from the then Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during 1979 and 1981, respectively. He obtained his Ph. D. (Agri.) in Plant Breeding degree from the then Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Palampur (H.P.) during 1993 as an in-service candidate having Senior Research Fellowship of ICAR. Prof. Verma joined as Assistant Scientist in February, 1982; and subsequently promoted as Sr. Scientist and Principal Scientist/Prof. in Feb., 1995 and 2003, respectively. He has guided five M.Sc. and two Ph. D. students pursuing for degree in Genetics & Plant Breeding discipline. He has published about 100 research papers, including popular articles and abstracts on different crops, while working on Medicinal & Aromatic Plants, Rice, Wheat, Pearl millet, Mung bean, Castor, Sesame, Chickpea, Raya etc. He has been associated in the ICAR Team Award for Wheat Improvement for the biennial 1994-96. He has organized and compiled four proceedings of National Seminars & Conferences on Medicinal & Aromatic Plants sponsored by National Medicinal Plants Board, New Delhi; Directorate of Arecanut & Spices Development, Calicut (Kerala) during 2002-2009; and Winter School on “Advances in Medicinal, Aromatic and Under-utilized Plants Research” sponsored by Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi during Sept.-Oct., 2005. He worked for 21 years on Medicinal & Aromatic Plants in different capacity. Besides, he worked for about eight years in Dryland Agriculture Unit in AICRPDA under CRIDA (ICAR), Hyderabad (Telangana) on various crops suited to dryland/rainfed agriculture; two years at Rice Research Station, Kaul (Kurukshetra); one year at Cotton Research Station, Sirsa; and finally as Head, Forage Section, Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding, CCS HAU, Hisar working on different crops during his service tenure of 37 years. He has been associated in the development of 11 crop varieties before retiring in November, 2018.

Rajesh Kumar Arya, presently working as Sr. Scientist & Head (MAP Section) obtained his M.Sc. (Agri.) in Plant Breeding during 2002 and Ph.D. (Agri.) in Plant Breeding during 2007 from the Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. He has 20 years’ experience of research, including last 8 years on Medicinal, Aromatic and Potential crops for development of new varieties for higher yield with better quality of bioactive compounds. He has been awarded Appreciation Award in 2023 for his outstanding research by IFSDAA, Gottingen, Germany. He also received RMSI best paper award from Range Management and Agro-forestry Society of India in 2019. He has been presently associated in teaching PG course on Breeding for Medicinal and Aromatic plants. He has published more than 200 research papers in Journals of International and National repute. He has also published four books and three booklets and 10 book chapters. He is working as Editorial Secretary in journal on Forage Research; and Associate Editor in Ekin J. Crop Breeding and Genetics. He has developed two varieties of Fababean, one of Chandersur, six of Wheat and two of Ashwagandha for commercial cultivation at National level. He has been member of “Society for Sustainable Agriculture and Resource Management (SSARM)”, India; and “International Foundation for Sustainable Development” in Africa and Asia (IFSDAA), Germany.

1 Significance of Crop Improvement in Aromatic Plants
2 Plant Genetic Resources in Aromatic Plants
3 Significance of Agro-biodiversity in Aromatic Plants
4 Role of Biotechnology in Aromatic Plants
5 Significance of Essential Oils Quality in Aromatic Plants
6 Extraction Methods of Essential Oils in Aromatic Plants 
7 Use of Essential Oils in Aromatherapy
8 Post-harvest Management in Aromatic Plants
9 Celery/Ajmod (Apium graveolens)
10 Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla)
11 Citronella grass (Cymbopogon winterianus)
12 Davana (Artemisia pallens)
13 Dill seed/Sowa (Anethum graveolens)
14 Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens)
15 Haldi/Turmeric (Curcuma species)
16 Jasmine (Jasminum grandiflorum)
17 Lemon grass (Cymbopogon flexuosus)
18 Mint/Pudina (Mentha species)
19 Palmarosa/Roshagrass (Cymbopogon martinii var. motia)
20 Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin)
21 Damask rose (Rosa demascena)
22 Tulsi/Basil (Ocimum species)
23 Vetiver/Khas (Vetiveria zizanioides)
24 Wild marigold (Tagetes minuta)