Yield and artemisinin content of six polyploid accessions of Artemisia annua grown at medium altitude in Indonesia

The high incidence of malaria in Indonesia has resulted in a very high dependence on malaria drugs. The effort to self-sufficiency in artemisinin raw materials has been very possible because of the suitable geographical climate for large scale cultivation of Artemisia annua. Artemisinin production would be efficient and economical if the content levels reach more than 0.6%. Artemisia annua is a short-day plant, which is a typical of sub-tropical plant. Growing this species in the tropics causes a short vegetative period and results in low levels of artemisinin. The results showed that 6 polyploid accessions of Artemisia annua grown in medium altitude in Indonesia demonstrated different morphological characteristics based on growth, leaf shape, branching, stem colour, and flowering characteristics. Each of evaluated accession performed growth, yield, and artemisinin content, inconsistently. Artemisinin levels of each individual sample of each accession were highly fluctuated indicating that each accession number was not genotypically stable or uniform. Further evaluation is required to determine a suitable accession to grow.