Agriculture and horticulture
Fatemeh Borna; Mostafa Rahmati-Joneidabad; Sadegh Abdrahmani
Abstract
Background and objectives: The use of chemical fertilizers to produce high-yield crops in the shortest possible time has raised public concern about the sustainability, safety, and security of food. Therefore, alternatives such as biofertilizers are needed to ensure food safety and security. Biofertilizers ...
Read More
Background and objectives: The use of chemical fertilizers to produce high-yield crops in the shortest possible time has raised public concern about the sustainability, safety, and security of food. Therefore, alternatives such as biofertilizers are needed to ensure food safety and security. Biofertilizers are important tools in sustainable agriculture and can help plants cope with environmental stresses. The application of these fertilizers in the cultivation of medicinal plants, which are inherently aimed at ensuring public health, is on the rise. The medicinal plant dragonhead, scientifically known as Dracocephalum moldavica L., belongs to the mint family and contains essential oils throughout the plant. In traditional medicine, it is used to treat mental weakness, migraines, cardiovascular problems, congestion, headaches, stomach pain, liver disorders, and as a sedative. This study aims to investigate the effect of biofertilizers on the medicinal plant dragonhead under the climatic conditions of Khuzestan.
Methodology: The effect of biofertilizers on the growth, yield, and quantity and quality of the essential oil of dragonhead was examined using a randomized complete block design with seven treatments and three replications at the Department of Horticultural Science, Khuzestan Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University in 2022. After soil analysis and land preparation, the seedlings were transplanted to the main field in March. All planting and maintenance operations, including irrigation and weed control, were uniformly applied to all treatments. The experimental treatments included: control (without fertilizer - C), inoculation with bio-potassium (K), inoculation with bio-nitrogen (N), inoculation with bio-phosphate (P), inoculation with bio-nitrogen + bio-phosphate (NP), inoculation with bio-nitrogen + bio-potassium (NK), and inoculation with bio-nitrogen + bio-phosphate + bio-potassium (NPK). The aerial parts of dragonhead were harvested at the flowering stage. The evaluated traits included plant height, number of inflorescences, length of the main inflorescence, fresh weight, dry weight, essential oil content, dry weight yield, and essential oil yield. Essential oil extraction was performed by water distillation using a Clevenger apparatus, and the essential oil components were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The data were analyzed using SAS statistical software (version 9.1) and means were compared using Duncan's multiple range test at a 5% probability level. Charts were drawn using EXCEL software.
Results: Analysis of variance results showed that biofertilizers had a significant effect on all evaluated traits of dragonhead. Subsequent mean comparison results indicated that the highest plant height (90.08 cm) was observed in the P treatment, the highest number of inflorescences (11.91), length of the main inflorescence (31.10 cm), fresh weight (50.31 g), dry weight (11.31 g), essential oil percentage (2%), dry weight yield (3393.5 Kg/ha), and essential oil yield (69.19 Kg/ha) were observed in the treatment inoculated with bio-nitrogen + bio-phosphate + bio-potassium (NPK). The lowest plant height (71.50 cm), number of inflorescences (4.12), length of the main inflorescence (17.75 cm), aerial fresh weight (15.68 g), dry weight (3.98 g), dry weight yield (1194.75 Kg/ha), and essential oil yield (4.98 Kg/ha) were observed in the bio-potassium (K) treatment, and the lowest essential oil percentage (0.44%) was observed in the bio-nitrogen (N) treatment. GC-MS analysis of the essential oil revealed differences in the essential oil components among the treatments. The highest amounts of neral (17.53%) were found in the P treatment, geraniol (7.91%) in the NPK treatment, geranial (32.12%) in the K treatment, neryl acetate (2.49%) in the NPK treatment, and geranyl acetate (73.18%) in the NK treatment.
Conclusion: Based on the results, the combined use of biofertilizers, especially NPK, is recommended for maximum yield and essential oil production of dragonhead under similar ecological conditions. It is predicted that under these conditions and without the use of chemical fertilizers, the cultivation of this medicinal plant in a sustainable agricultural system will lead to healthy, sustainable, and high-quality essential oil production.
M.T. Darzi; M.R. Haj Seyed Hadi
Abstract
In order to study the effects of organic and bio-fertilizers on some quantitative and qualitative characters of dragonhead (Dracocephalum moldavica L.), an experiment was conducted as randomized complete blocks design with eight treatments and three replications. The study was conducted in the Research ...
Read More
In order to study the effects of organic and bio-fertilizers on some quantitative and qualitative characters of dragonhead (Dracocephalum moldavica L.), an experiment was conducted as randomized complete blocks design with eight treatments and three replications. The study was conducted in the Research Field Station of Ran Agricultural Company in Firouzkuh, 2015. The treatments were 20 t/ha manure, 10 t/ha vermicompost, biofertilizer (Nitroxin + Bio Super Phosphat), 10 t/ha manure + 5 t/ha vermicompost, 20 t/ha manure + biofertilizer, 10 t/ha vermicompost + biofertilizer, 10 t/ha manure + 5 t/ha vermicompost + biofertilizer and chemical fertilizer (NPK: 80, 70 and 80 kg/ha). The results showed that treatments had significant effects on the traits studied except plant height, so that the highest flowering shoot no./plant, flower dry weight, plant dry weight and dry flowering yield were obtained with integrated application of 10 t/ha manure and 5 t/ha vermicompost. In addition, the highest essential oil content and geraniol in the essential oil were obtained in the treatment of application of 10 t/ha vermicompost.
S. Yousefzadeh; F. Sefidkon
Abstract
To determine the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of six dragonhead (Dracocephalum moldavica L.) populations at six habitats, an experiment was conducted as completely randomized design with three replications (at intervals of 500 to 1000 m) in 2013. Each dragonhead population ...
Read More
To determine the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of six dragonhead (Dracocephalum moldavica L.) populations at six habitats, an experiment was conducted as completely randomized design with three replications (at intervals of 500 to 1000 m) in 2013. Each dragonhead population belongs to a habitat including Salmas, Urmia, Khoy, Maragheh, Piranshahr and Tabriz. The szk-1cultivar, as a control treatment, was planted in the Research Field of Payam Noor University (PNU) in Marand. In each habitat, flowering branches of dragonhead were collected in full flowering stage. In this study, some traits such as plant height, number of branches, number of flowering branches, essential oil content, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in shoot as well as chlorophyll contents (a, b and total), carotenoids, flavonoids and anthocyanins were measured. According to the obtained results, the effect of habitat was significant on plant height, number of branches, essential oil, the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, chlorophyll and flavonoids at 5% level as well as on number of flowering branches and anthocyanin amount at 1% level. Results showed that the highest plant height and nitrogen, phosphorus, chlorophyll, carotenoids and essential oil contents were obtained from Salmas population. The Szk-1 cultivar produced the highest number of lateral and flowering branches and total flavonoids in Marand. In general, Salmas population had the best growth characteristics and qualitative traits. Therefore, this population could be used to produce varieties with desirable agronomic properties.
M. Kamalizadeh; M.R. Bihamta; S.A. Peyghambari; J. Hadian
Abstract
In order to evaluate the effect of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the production of rosmarinic acid and chlorogenic acid, this nanoparticle with eight different concentrations (0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, 100 and 15 ppm) in a completely randomized design with three replications at flowering stage was sprayed ...
Read More
In order to evaluate the effect of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the production of rosmarinic acid and chlorogenic acid, this nanoparticle with eight different concentrations (0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, 100 and 15 ppm) in a completely randomized design with three replications at flowering stage was sprayed on Urmia genotype of Dragonhead (Dracocephalum moldavica L.) planted in the greenhouse, college of agriculture, Tehran university. At full flowering stage, plant shoots were harvested and dried in the shade for a week and then the amount of two major phenolic compounds of extraction were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Excel and SAS software were used for statistical analysis. Results showed statistically significant differences among different treatments. The production of these two compounds raised in low concentration of nanoparticle treatment up to 30 ppm extract, whereas rosmarinic acid content was decreased in high concentration of nanoparticle treatment. Average content of rosmarinic acid and chlorogenic acid in Urmia genotypes was 123.2 and 54µg/g extract, respectively. Therefore, nanopartcle induced the production rate of phenolic compounds in low concentration.
S. Yousefzadeh; S.A.M. Modarres-Sanavy; F. Sefidkon; A. Asgarzadeh; A. ghalavand
Abstract
Dragonhead (Dracocephalum moldavica L.) is an annual plant that belongs to the (Labiate or Lamiaceae) family. The essential oil of dragonhead has natural antibacterial and antimicrobial substances and having wide usage in industries like pharmaceutical, dietary and many others. In this research, effects ...
Read More
Dragonhead (Dracocephalum moldavica L.) is an annual plant that belongs to the (Labiate or Lamiaceae) family. The essential oil of dragonhead has natural antibacterial and antimicrobial substances and having wide usage in industries like pharmaceutical, dietary and many others. In this research, effects of different harvest times on content and composition of essential oil were studied in Research field at Khoy Agricultural Research Center in West Azarbaijan province. Dragonhead seeds from both landrace and modern cultivars were planted simultaneously. The aerial parts of plant were harvested in six stages. After drying the plant materials in shade, their essential oils were obtained by hydro-distillation. The oils were analyzed by GC and GC-MS. According to the results, maximum and minimum essential oils percentage for both landrace and modern cultivars were respectively observed in full flowering (0.53) and yellow-maturity stage (0.07). In addition, there were some differences between oil compositions of these dragonheadaccessions at different harvest times. The major oil components of dragonhead were the geranial, geraniol and geranyl acetate. The highest and the lowest sum total amount of geranial and geraniol were obtained at the early flowering (65.1%) and yellow-maturity (44.9%) for the landrace cultivar. The largest amount of geranyl acetate (50.7%) was gained for the modern cultivar at the early flowering stage while the least one (28.1%) was recorded for landrace cultivar plants 26 days after flowering when 10 to 30 percent of the flowers remained. The results showed that different harvest times had significant effects on essential oil content and composition.
