Is there any relationship between agronomic traits, soil properties and essential oil profile of peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) treated by fertiliser treatments and irrigation regimes?

Abstract

One of the greatest challenges in recent years is providing enough food to feed the increasing world population, with limited freshwater resources. However, effective fertiliser management also has a fundamental role to improve yield quality and quantity. Organic fertiliser not only supplements nutrients but also improves physicochemical and biological soil properties. A 2-year field experiment was conducted to examine the influence of urea and vermicompost fertiliser on oil phytochemical properties of peppermint pH, soil cation exchange capacity (CEC) and organic carbon of experimental site under three irrigation regimes in 2018 and 2019. The experiments had three water deficit regimes (no stress, moderate, and severe drought stress) as a main plot. The subplot division consisted of six fertiliser treatments: unfertilised (control); 140 kg urea ha À1 ; 105 kg urea ha À1 + 3.3 ton vermicompost ha À1 ; 70 kg urea ha À1 + 6.6 ton vermicompost ha À1 ; 35 kg urea ha À1 + 10 ton vermicompost ha À1 ; and 13.5 ton vermicompost ha À1 . The maximum leaf area index (4.29) and dry matter weight (3,803 kg ha À1 ) were observed in control irrigation, while the highest essential oil content (0.97%) could be seen under mild water deficit stress. Additionally, the highest organic carbon and CEC were obtained under well-watered conditions at 1.20% and 6.41 (meq 100 g soil À1 ), respectively. Dry matter weight and essential oil content increased considerably in response to increasing vermicompost in fertiliser treatments, and the highest content of these traits were observed in 2019 and with 13.5 ton vermicompost ha À1 . The menthol content increases in response to deficit irrigation and integrated fertiliser. These data indicate that mild drought stress can increase the synthesis of medical compounds and vermicomposting can alleviate the impact of drought by conserving soil moisture as an acclimation mechanism to improve nutrient uptake and avoid yield losses.

Functional Quality, Antioxidant Capacity and Essential Oil Percentage in Different Mint Species Affected by Salinity Stress

“…In general, when the level of stress was increased from 2.5 to 7.5 dS m −1 , the concentration of MDA in all the species increased, thus indicating the severe destruction of the cell membranes of these species. Biotic stress, as a result of an increase in the production ROS, can play an important role in lipid peroxidation [7] . Other researchers have reported an increase in the MDA concentration of leaves, due to salinity stress, in mint, [6] basil, [37] and sage [38] .…”

“…Biotic stress, as a result of an increase in the production ROS, can play an important role in lipid peroxidation. [7] Other researchers have reported an increase in the MDA concentration of leaves, due to salinity stress, in mint, [6] basil, [37] and sage. [38] They stated that the destruction of cell membranes, under the influence of salinity stress, and the production of leaf MDA, due to the degradation and breakdown of cell membrane lipids, could be considered as a suitable criterion to study the response of plants to salinity stress.…”

“…[3] Hydroxyl radicals result in oxidative degradation processes, such as lipid peroxidation, chlorophyll decomposition, and the structural modification of proteins. [7,8] Mutations can be due to injury from chemicals, cosmic rays, and from biotic and abiotic stress, which cause a shift in the DNA sequences. [9] DNA mutations and damage to nucleic acids lead to a disruption of the plant's natural metabolism, which, in turn, leads to a slight reduction in yield and in product quality.…”

“…Hence, unlike other agriculture products, which, in unfavorable conditions, are reduced in terms of final yield, the amount of secondary metabolites and essential oil content in medicinal and aromatic plants may increase, although this depends on the plant species and environmental conditions [3] . Hydroxyl radicals result in oxidative degradation processes, such as lipid peroxidation, chlorophyll decomposition, and the structural modification of proteins [7,8] . Mutations can be due to injury from chemicals, cosmic rays, and from biotic and abiotic stress, which cause a shift in the DNA sequences [9] .…”

Cowpea seeds from plants subjected to restricted-and full-irrigation regimes show differential phytochemical activity

“…3 ). Keshavarz Mirza Mohammadi et al ( 2021b ) observed that the production of phenolic compounds in the peppermint had little variation throughout the year, despite significant differences in air temperature were observed in different months. Results demonstrated that drought stress treatment decreased the content of total phenolics than well-watered (control) treatment by 25.7% (Fig.…”