Abstract
Balangu (Lallemantia sp.) is a medicinal herb with a variety of applications, all parts of which have economic uses, including leaf for extraction of essential oils, as a vegetable and potherb, seed for extraction of mucilage and edible or industrial oil. To investigate the effect of cultivation season and standard chemical and nano fertilizers (n) on the yield components and antioxidant properties of Dragon’s head, a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design was conducted with 12 treatments and three replications. Experimental treatments consisted of two seasons (spring and winter cultivation) and six levels of fertilizer (control, NPK-s, NPK-n, Fe-chelated-n, NPK-n + Fe-chelated-n, NPK-s + NPK-n + Fe-chelated-n). The traits included grain yield per plant, essential oil percentage and yield, mucilage percentage and yield, antioxidant properties in the seeds and leaves, including total phenols and flavonoids content, DPPH radical scavenging, and nitric oxide and superoxide radical scavenging. The results showed that winter cultivation had a noticeable advantage over spring cultivation across all of the traits. The highest grain yield per plant was obtained in winter cultivation using NPK-n + Fe-chelated-n fertilizer treatment. The highest essential oil percentage was in NPK-n + Fe-chelated-n. The highest mucilage percentage was observed in NPK-s + NPK-n + Fe-chelated-n fertilizer treatment, which was not statistically different to NPK-n + Fe-chelated-n treatment. The combined effects of winter cultivation and NPK-n + Fe-chelated-n fertilizers resulted in improving antioxidant activity traits. Overall, the results indicated that the combination of winter cultivation and NPK-n + Fe-chelated-n fertilizers are the most appropriate treatment to acquire highest qualitative and quantitative yield of Dragon’s head, in the Azerbaijan region (Iran).
Highlights
The use of medicinal plants and plant-derived medicine is increasing in different countries at a growing pace, mainly because the effectiveness of these substances has been scientifically proven and they are popular in most human societies
The comparison of data means showed that the plants treated with NPK-n + Fe-chelated-n and sown in winter showed the highest seed yield per plant (0.84 g plant−1 ) and the control plants sown in spring produced the lowest one (0.21 g plant−1, Figure 1)
The results proved the superiority of winter sowing and incorporated NPK-s + NPK-n + Fe-chelated-n, but this fertilization regime did not differ from NPK-n + Fe-chelated-n significantly, so it is more cost-effective to apply the latter regime and eliminate soil-incorporated NPK-s
Summary
The use of medicinal plants and plant-derived medicine is increasing in different countries at a growing pace, mainly because the effectiveness of these substances has been scientifically proven and they are popular in most human societies. The medicinal and aromatic members of this family are regarded as a key genetic reserve of plants due to their high ecological adaptability with diverse climates. Because of their aromatic compounds, they are widely used in the cosmetic, health, medicinal, and food industries [3]. Sowing season is one of the most important management factors (controlling the damage of pests, diseases, weeds, and cold temperatures, etc.) for producing a high value product [6]. The selection of sowing season is influential in controlling the damage of pests, diseases, weeds, and cold temperatures, and matches the plant’s growth period, especially in sensitive development phases like flowering, with suitable temperatures [7]
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