Influence of biofertilizers and bioformulations on biomass and essential oil yield of menthol mint (Mentha arvensis L.)

Abstract

Medicinal and aromatic plants with chemical residues can become a poison than a medicine. So, it is very important to reduce the usage of such chemicals in cultivation practices of such crops. Keeping this in view, a research work was conducted to incorporate organic sources in the conventional menthol mint cultivation. Menthol mint plants were treated with different combination of bioformulations and biofertilizers and plants treated with recommended dosage of fertilizers were maintained as control. The results of the experiment revealed that the combined application of bioformulations and biofertilizers along with recommended dosage of fertilizers recorded higher shade herbage yield (395.57 g/plant), essential oil yield (3.77 g/plant) and oil content (0.99%), available nitrogen (234.90 kg/ha), phosphorous (23.66 kg/ha) and potassium (141.69 kg/ha) in the soil, while lowest was noticed in control. No significant difference was observed in menthol content. The combined application of bioformulations and biofertilizers can become an eco-friendly technique of menthol mint cultivation.