Effects of soil and foliar applications of iron and zinc on flowering and essential oil of chamomile at greenhouse conditions

Abstract

In order to study the effects of soil and foliar applications of iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) on flowering, flower yield and essential oil production of German chamomile a pot experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Iran in 2012. The experiment was arranged as completely randomized design with 12 treatments and three replications. ), T 9 : T 5 +T 7 , T 10 : T 5 +T 8 , T 11 : T 6 +T 7 , T 12 : T 6 +T 8 . The foliar spraying was done two times during the growing period. The results revealed that the flower number, flower yield, essential oil content and essential oil yield were significantly increased by soil and foliar applications of Fe + Zn, compared with the control (untreated). The highest flower number (477 plant -1 ), flower yield (11.6 g pot -1 ), essential oil content (0.88 %) and essential oil yield (119 mg pot -1 ) were recorded for the soil application of Fe + Zn (T 4 ) by 58, 68, 21.4 and 105 % increment compared to the control, respectively. Foliar application of Fe + Zn (T 12 ) was placed at the next rank; however this treatment had no significant difference with the soil application of Fe + Zn (T 4 ). Other treatments did not show significant differences with the control. Generally, the results showed that soil or foliar application of Fe + Zn can be effective on increase or improve of quantity and quality of chamomile yield. Moreover, use of foliar application as a low cost method especially in areas with alkaline or calcareous soils can be recommended. ), T 9 : T 5 +T 7 , T 10 : T 5 +T 8 , T 11 : T 6 +T 7 , T 12 : T 6 +T 8 . Škropljenje listov je bilo opravljeno dvakrat v rastni dobi. Rezultati so pokazali, da je talno in foliarno gnojenje z Fe + Zn značilno povečalo število cvetov, pridelek cvetov, vsebnost in pridelek eteričnih olj v primerjavi s kontrolo. Največje število cvetov (477 na rastlino), največji pridelek cvetov (11.6 g na lonec), največja vsebnost eteričnih olj (0.88 %) in največji pridelek eteričnih olj (119 mg na lonec) so bili izmerjeni pri talnem dodajanju Fe + Zn (T 4 ), povečanje je bilo za 58, 68, 21.4 in 105 % glede na kontrolno obravnavanje. Učinek foliarnega dodajanja Fe + Zn (T 12 ) je bil takoj za talnim dodajanjem Fe + Zn (T 4 ), vendar se od njega ni značilno razlikoval. Druga obravnavanja niso dala značilnih odstopanj od kontrole. V splošnem so rezultati pokazali, da lahko tako talno kot foliarno dodajanje Fe + Zn učinkovito poveča ali izboljša količino in kvaliteto pridelka prave kamilice. Uporabo foliarnega dodajanja bi kot poceni način gnojenja še posebej priporočali na območjih , kjer so tla bazična ali apnenčasta.

Improvement of physiological and phytochemical parameters of pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) using foliar application of zinc

“…Researchers have noted that Zn is an important element in plant development and can affect flowering (Butnariu et al, 2008;Srivastava and Singh, 2009;Hada et al 2014;Nasiri and Najafi, 2015), which was confirmed by the current results. Srivastava and Singh (2009) indicated that a foliar application of Zn at various levels (100 g, 200 g, 300 g) significantly induced flowering intensity.…”

Response of Night-Blooming Jessamine (Cestrum nocturnum L.) Plants to Phosphorus-Zinc Relation. 1-Growth, Flowering and Uptake of Phosphorous and Zinc.

“…The favourable ef-fect of P fertilization was investigated by numerous researchers on flowering of some ornamentals such as chrysanthemum (Kato and Takel, 1989), gerbera (Mohamed, 1992) and violet (El-Sallami, 1996). Other scientists reported the promotive effect of Zn on flowering of marigold (Omer, 1992), narcissus (El-Sallami, 1997) and chamomile (Nasiri et al, 2010).…”

“…The favorable effects of P fertilization on growth and flowering were investigated by numerous researchers on many plants such as chrysanthemum (Kato and Takel, 1989), gerbera (Mohamed, 1992), violet and florists cineraria (El-Sallami, 1996& 2001, prunus (Balal et al, 2011) and strawberry (Mo-hamed et al, 2011). Other works concluded that adequate Zn nutrition is essential for more vigorous plants and had better growth and quality than other plants severely Zndeficient (Moraghan and Grafton, 2003;Mirvat et al, 2006;Nasiri et al, 2010;Carolina et al, 2011 andObaid andAl-Hadethi, 2013).…”

Effect of zinc and iron on growth, flowering and shelf life of marigold under the agro-climatic conditions of Sawabi

“…Mean table (9) shows that the dry weight of flower was significantly affected by the foliar application of zinc, iron and their interaction. The maximum dry weight of flowers (3.06 g) of marigold was noted in those plots which were treated with 0.…”

“…Zinc is also known as an important constituent for many growth promoting substances such as for the synthesis of tryptophan and a precursor of indole acetic acid. It has been reported that the essential oil percentage, oil yield and flowers yield of chamomile was increased with the application of zinc [9]. Iron is also important micro nutrients which plays an important role in the respiration and photosynthesis and also affects its properties.…”