Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 PhD graduate, Department of Horticultural Science and Agronomy, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 *- Corresponding author, Professor, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran, E-mail: sefidkon@rifr-ac.ir
3 Associate Professor, Medicinal Plants Research Center, Institute of Medicinal Plants, ACECR, Karaj, Iran.
Abstract
The cultivation of medicinal plants such as the Lamiaceae family increasing throughout the world Significantly. Savory considers as an important species in this family which it’s important is due to carvacrol and thymol in essential oil. In order to investigate the effect of planting density and soil fertility on the physiological traits and antioxidant enzymes activity of savory under rainfed conditions, an experiment in the form of split plots with two factors, fertilizer as the main factor at three levels (control, 30 tons/ha cow manure and 10 tons/ha straw enriched with ammonium sulfate) and the sub-factor, plant density at three levels (2.67, 4 and 8 plants/m2) in the form of a complete block design A random experiment was conducted at Hamand Absard research station (Damavand) in 2017-18 and 2018-19. The analysis of variance showed a significant effect of planting density and organic fertilizers on the physiological traits of savory. The highest RWC (%87.67) and the lowest ELI (%47.19) were observed in the cow manure treatment with 30 tons/ha at a density of 2.67 plant/m2. As the density increased, total chlorophyll and RWC decreased and ELI and MDA and proline increased. Cow manure and straw increased total chlorophyll, proline and RWC and decreased ELI and MDA. The highest activity of CAT, peroxidase and SOD enzyme was obtained in the control treatment and 8 plant/m2 and the lowest in organic fertilizer treatment, 2.67 plant/m2. Increasing the activity of these enzymes to neutralize the reactive oxygen species produced due to water stress is known as a resistance mechanism in plants. Based on the results of this research, it can be said that savory has the ability to grow in rain-fed conditions and has the necessary potential to increase the antioxidant capacity in rainfed conditions.
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