GROWTH BEHAVIOR AND PRODUCTIVITY OF LEMONGRASS (CYMBOPOGON CITRATUS) AS AFFECTED BY FOLIAR APPLICATIONS OF VARIOUS PROMOTING

Abstract

This work was performed during two successive growth seasons (2013 and 2014) at the Experimental Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Menoufia University, Shebin El – Kom , Egypt to study the individual and combined effects of foliar application of benzyl adenine (BA) at (0, 50 and 100 mg/l) and mixture of some micronutrients (iron, manganese, zinc and boron) as a compound chelated (EDTA form) at different levels on growth, yield and active constituents of lemongrass plant (Cymbopogon citratus L.) grown on a clayey soil. Micronutrients were sprayed at different concentrations, i.e., M0 = irrigation water without any of micronutrients, M1= 100, 50, 50 and 25 mg/l, M2 = 150, 100, 100 and 50 mg/l, M3 = 200, 150, 150 and 75 mg/l for Fe, Mn, Zn and B, respectively. The experiment was carried out in a split plot design with three replicates. Results indicated that, the combinations between different rates of BA and mixture of micronutrients had a significant improvement effect on growth and yield characters in most cases expressed as plant height (cm), number of tillers/plant, fresh and dry weights of herb (g/plant) and fresh weight of herb (ton/fed) in the 1st and 2nd cuts during the two seasons. Their highest values were obtained in the plants treated with BA at 100 mg/l combined with M2 level of micronutrients in the two cuts through the first and second seasons. The highest oil percentages were obtained by using BA at 50 mg/l + M2 level of micronutrients and BA at 100 mg/l + M1 level of micronutrients for the first and second cuts respectively during the two seasons. Citral a (geranial), citral b (neral) and myrcene were found to be the major compounds in the essential oil of Cymbopogon citrates which reached its maximum values by using BA at 100 mg/l + M1 level of micronutrients, BA at 50 mg/l + M2 level of micronutrients and M1 level of micronutrients without using BA respectively, during the 2nd cut in the first season.