Agriculture and horticulture
H. Alikhani; A. Rahimi; M. Shamsaddin Saied; R. Sahafi; M.R. Pirmoradi
Abstract
To study the effects of different levels of iron and zinc chelates application and supplementary irrigation on the quantity and quality of Ferula assa-foetida L. asafetida, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications in Neyriz City (Fars province) ...
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To study the effects of different levels of iron and zinc chelates application and supplementary irrigation on the quantity and quality of Ferula assa-foetida L. asafetida, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications in Neyriz City (Fars province) in 2018. The experimental treatments included the supplementary irrigation (no irrigation (control), once, and twice irrigation) and zinc and iron chelates foliar application (no foliar application (control), Zn (two per thousand) foliar application, Fe (two per thousand) foliar application, and combined Fe (1.5 per thousand) and Zn (1.5 per thousand) foliar application). The studied traits included the number of leaves, leaf length, crown diameter, aerial parts dry weight, plant survival percentage, concentration of elements Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn in the aerial parts, asafetida weight, and essential oil content. The results showed that the supplementary irrigation increased the number of leaves, aerial parts dry weight, and survival percentage of the plant. Twice supplementary irrigation resulted in the highest aerial parts Fe content. Also, the iron and zinc chelates foliar application increased the leaf length and survival percentage of the plant compared to the control. The highest aerial parts Fe content was obtained by iron chelate foliar application. Under both supplementary and control irrigation conditions, the zinc and iron chelates foliar application significantly increased the plant volume by 1.5 times, asafetida weight by 2 to 2.8 times, and essential oil content by 0.6 to 0.9%. In addition, under no supplementary irrigation conditions, the highest aerial parts Mn content of the plant was obtained by zinc chelate foliar application as well as combined iron and zinc chelates foliar application, but under once and twice supplementary irrigation conditions, the foliar application had no significant effect on this parameter. Under both supplementary and control irrigation conditions, the highest aerial parts Cu content of the plant was observed in no foliar application treatment. The Zn foliar application caused the highest aerial parts Zn content of the plant. Therefore, it seems that the supplementary irrigation with the foliar application of iron and zinc chelates could increase the asafetida yield and essential oil content in F. assa-foetida by improving the growth characteristics.
H. Delavar; M.J. Saharkhiz; N. Kazerani
Abstract
This investigation was conducted to determine the essential oil composition and allopathic properties of anghuzeh (Ferula assa-foetida L.) medicinal plant. The experiment was completely randomized design in a factorial arrangement with two factors and three replications. The factors were six concentrations ...
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This investigation was conducted to determine the essential oil composition and allopathic properties of anghuzeh (Ferula assa-foetida L.) medicinal plant. The experiment was completely randomized design in a factorial arrangement with two factors and three replications. The factors were six concentrations of 0, 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 ppm of the essential oil and five plant species including three weed species, Sinapis arvensis, Acroptilo repens, and Cardaria draba as well as two crops i.e. Triticum aestivum and Hordeum vulgare. The essential oil used in this study was extracted by hydro-distillation from the latex of the plant. The obtained oil was analyzed by Gas chromatography (GC) and Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS).To assess the allopathic effects of the oil on the studied species, a number of growth parameters such as seed germination, radical and plumule length as well as their dry and fresh weight, and abnormality percent of the seedlings were evaluated. The results of this investigation showed that the Anghuzeh essential oil had significant (p ≤ 0.05) allelopathic effect on the studied weeds and crops. The comparisons among the means indicated that the response of the species to the oil were quite different. For example, Triticum aestivum showed maximum germination percent in the presence of different oil concentrations. While, the germination of Hordeum vulgare, Acroptilon repens, and Cardaria draba showed more susceptibility to the oil. Moreover, the results of the essential oil analysis indicated that a total of 13 components were identified in the oil of which α-Pinene (21.3%), β- Pinene, (47.1%) and 1,2-Dithiolane (18.6%) were the major compounds. The observed allelopathic effects of the essential oil are regarded to oil components and their synergistic effects. The findings of this study are the first step to use of Anghuzeh essential oil as a natural herbicide. Further investigations are still required for practical and commercial application of this method.