scholarly journals Application of Super Absorbent Polymer and Plant Mucilage Improved Essential Oil Quantity and Quality of Ocimum basilicum var. Keshkeni Luvelou

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 2503
Author(s):  
Somaye Beigi ◽  
Majid Azizi ◽  
Marcello Iriti

One of the major factors limiting the production of medicinal plants in arid and semi-arid areas is water deficit or drought stress. One-third of the land in the world is arid and semi-arid and is inhabited by nearly 4 × 108 people. Ocimum basilicum (sweet basil) is a valuable medicinal plant that is sensitive to water deficit, and water shortage negatively affects sweet basil yield and quality. Water availability in the root zone of basil could ameliorate the negative effects of water shortage. To the best of our knowledge, although the effects of hydrophilic polymers (HPs) have been studied in different agricultural crops, the effects of HP application in medicinal plants have not been previously investigated. This investigation was conducted to explore the effects on water use efficiency when using Stockosorb® (STS) and psyllium seed mucilage (PSM) as hydrophilic polymers (HPs) and the effects of these HPs on essential oil quality, quantity, and yield. The research was set up in a factorial experiment on the basis of completely randomized block design with three replications. We used two HPs, STS (industrial) and PSM (herbal), with two methods of application (mixed with soil, mixed with soil + root) at four concentrations (0%, 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3% (w/w)). Results showed that the STS and PSM significantly increased the dry herb yield (both shoot and root) in comparison to the control, and the improving effect was higher when these HPs were mixed with soil + root. The highest dry herb yield (6.74 and 3.68 g/plant for shoot and root, respectively) was detected in the PSM at 0.1% mixed with soil + root. There was not any significant difference in dry herb yield among PSM (0.1%), PSM (0.2%), and STS (0.2%) when mixed with soil + root. Soil application of PSM and soil + root application of STS at a concentration of 0.3% increased the Essential Oil (EO) content almost three-fold in comparison to the control (0.5% and 0.52% to 0.18% v/w, respectively). The maximum essential oil yield was recorded in plants treated with STS (0.2% in) or PSM (0.1%) by soil + root application (0.21 and 0.19 mL/plant, respectively). PSM at concentrations of 0.1% and 0.2% (mixed with soil + root) showed the highest water use efficiency (1.91 and 1.82 g dry weight (DW)/L H2O, respectively). STS mixed with soil also significantly improved water use efficiency (WUE) in comparison to the control. The application of these HPs improved the quality of sweet basil essential oil by increasing the linalool and decreasing the eugenol, epi-α-cadinol, and trans-α-bergamotene content.

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 124-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Borivoj Pejic ◽  
Dusan Adamovic ◽  
Livija Maksimovic ◽  
Ksenija Mackic

2012 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Nurzyńska-Wierdak

The aromatic and curative properties of basil are connected with the presence of essential oil, mainly in the leaves and flowers. Herb yield and the quality of basil oil are related to the effect of genetic, ontogenetic and environmental factors. In the studies conducted in the years 2008-2009, the effect of basil cultivar and foliar feeding upon selected flowering features was examined. In an unheated plastic tunnel, plants of Kasia, Wala, Genua Star and Opal cultivars were grown. Foliar feeding was done by the application of 0.5% urea solution or by spraying the plants with water. During harvest the characteristic features of flowering were determined, i.e. the number and length of inflorescences, as well as the number of verticils and flowers per inflorescence. A vast differentiation was demonstrated in flowering of sweet basil plants of the examined cultivars. The most inflorescences were formed by the plants of the Polish cultivar Kasia, compared to the remaining ones. The longest inflorescences with the highest number of flowers in the main inflorescence were found in 'Genua Star'. Foliar feeding of the plants with nitrogen caused a significant increase of inflorescence number, but it did not significantly affect the remaining features of basil flowering.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 593-600
Author(s):  
O.P. Verma ◽  
S. Singh ◽  
S. Pradhan ◽  
G. Kar ◽  
S.K. Rautaray

Water and nutrient deficiency are two major constraints that drastically affect rapeseed and mustard production under semi-arid regions of North-Western India. To cope with this problem, a study was undertaken to optimize irrigation, nitrogen and sulphur levels for productivity and quality of Ethiopian mustard(Brassica carinata).Field experiments were conducted during winter seasons of 2004-05 and 2005-06 at the Water Technology Centre (WTC), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, India. Irrigation, nitrogen and sulphur levels significantly (P<0.05) affected plant height, LAI, siliqua weight, seeds/siliqua, test weight, seed and biomass yield of Ethiopian mustard. Application of three irrigations (seedling, 50% flowering and pod development stage) to Ethiopian mustard   increased seed yield by 27-28% compared to one irrigation (seedling stage). Nitrogen @ 90 kg ha-1 produced 49-54 % higher seed yield of Ethiopian mustard compared to no application. Similarly, sulphur application @ 40 kg ha-1 increased seed yield by 33-34 % compared to no application of sulphur. The oil content of Ethiopian mustard   was significantly (P<0.05) affected by nitrogen and sulphur levels. Among the three treatments, irrigation treatment only significantly affected evapotranspiration of the studied crop. From the above study, it is suggested that application of  3 irrigations with 90 kg N ha-1 and 40 kg S ha-1 may be practiced for achieving higher seed yield, quality and water use efficiency of Ethiopian mustard in the semi-arid environment of Northern part of India.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 632
Author(s):  
Weinan Lu ◽  
Wenxin Liu ◽  
Mengyang Hou ◽  
Yuanjie Deng ◽  
Yue Deng ◽  
...  

Improving agricultural water use efficiency (AWUE) is an important way to solve the shortage of water resources in arid and semi-arid regions. This study used the Super-DEA (data envelopment analysis) to measure the AWUE of 52 cities in Northwest China from 2000 to 2018. Based on spatial and temporal perspectives, it applied Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) to explore the dynamic evolution and regional differences of AWUE. A spatial econometric model was then used to analyze the main factors that influence the AWUE in Northwest China. The results showed firstly that the overall AWUE in Northwest China from 2000 to 2018 presented a steady upward trend. However, only a few cities achieved effective agricultural water usage by 2018, and the differences among cities were obvious. Secondly, AWUE showed an obvious spatial autocorrelation in Northwest China and showed significant high–high and low–low agglomeration characteristics. Thirdly, economic growth, urbanization development, and effective irrigation have significant, positive effects on AWUE, while per capita water resource has a significant, negative influence. Finally, when improving the AWUE in arid and semi-arid regions, plans should be formulated according to local conditions. The results of this study can provide new ideas on the study of AWUE in arid and semi-arid regions and provide references for the formulation of regional agricultural water resource utilization policies as well.


2008 ◽  
Vol 95 (6) ◽  
pp. 659-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taisheng Du ◽  
Shaozhong Kang ◽  
Jianhua Zhang ◽  
Fusheng Li ◽  
Boyuan Yan

2016 ◽  
Vol 178 ◽  
pp. 137-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanhao Lian ◽  
Shahzad Ali ◽  
Xudong Zhang ◽  
Tianlu Wang ◽  
Qi Liu ◽  
...  

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