Effect of Different Soil Series and Manure Application on Agro-morphological Characteristics, Essential Oil and Chamazulene Content of German chamomile

Abstract

German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) is cultivated in many countries because of its great interest for pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries. In order to investigate the effects of different soil properties and manure application on agro-morphological characteristics, essential oil and chamazulene content of German chamomile, a factorial experiment was performed in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Ten dominant soil series were selected from Shahrekord plain in Chaharmahal- Va-Bakhtiari province, Iran. Before cultivation, 136.5 gr (equal to 30 tonh-1) of the cattle manure was mixed with the soil of each target pot. Soil physicochemical properties were determined. At harvest time, agro- morphological characteristics, fresh and dried flower yield, straw and biological yield, the content of essential oil, yield of essential oil and chamazulene percentage were determined. Univariate and multivariate, PCA and RA analyses were performed on data. Univariate analyses showed that agro-morphological properties of German chamomile were different at different soil types. Physicochemical properties could affect growth and German chamomile yield. Redundancy Analysis showed that among soil properties, the content of sulfur, phosphorus, potassium and organic matter had the highest effects on chamomile growth and yield. Moreover, results showed that pots which amended by manure had better yield and chamazulene percentage compared to control.