he Effect of Water Stress, Chemical and Organic Fertilizers on Biomass, Seed Yield and Root Phenolic Compounds of Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea L.)

علوم باغبانی

Article 5, Volume 34, Issue 4 - Serial Number 48, June 2021, Pages 593-603   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/jhorts4.v34i4.82030

Authors

Bijan Soltanian¹; Parviz Rezvani Moghaddam^{* 2}; Javad Asili³

¹Ph.D. Graduate in Agroecology Department of Agrotechnology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

²Professor, Department of Agrotechnology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

³Professor, Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, I.R.IRAN

Abstract

Introduction: Nowadays the demand for medicinal plants is increasing in the pharmaceutical industries. Echinacea spp. is an herbaceous, perennial plant containing valuable substances which belong to different chemical groups, most notably phenolic compounds. Echinacea is the most well-known and most important treatment for the immune system and protects against cough, cold and fever. Drought stress can be a major factor in increasing the content of secondary metabolites in many medicinal plants. Organic fertilizers are known to be one of the fertility factors for soil and plant nutrition due to the impacts on the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil. The purpose of this study was to investigate the response of yield and phenolic compounds as the most important group of active compounds in Echinacea in response to different levels of water stress, chemical and organic fertilizer management and their interactions.
Materials and Methods: This experiment was carried out during 2016 and 2017 years at the experimental Field of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, located at 10 km East of Mashhad. The split plot based on factorial design was implemented in 3 Replications. The  studied factors in this experiment in the main plot were water stress at three levels, including1- Non-Water stress (6000 m³.ha^-1), 2- Moderate Water Stress (4500 m³.ha^-1), 3- Severe Water stress (3000 m³.ha^-1).In sub plots, fertilization treatments applied in eight levels, including, 1- NPK fertilizer (500 kg.ha^-1) ; 2-Humic acid (20 L.ha^-1); 3-Vermicompost (6000 kg.ha^-1); 4-Humic ­acid+NPK (20 L.ha^-1+500 kg.ha^-1); 5. Vermicompost+NPK (3000 kg.ha^-1+250 kg.ha^-1); 6-vermicompost+humic­ acid (3000 kg.ha^-1+20 L.ha^-1); 7. Vermicompost+Humic­ acid+NPK (3000 kg.ha^-1+20 L.ha-1+250 kg.ha^-1) and 8.control. The amount of irrigation needed at each turn was calculated by NETWAT software. In combined treatments, half of the NPK fertilizer which used in the pure treatment was replaced with the equivalent amount of vermicompost. Constant amount of liquid humic­ acid was applied at the same time with vermicompost and NPK in rosette leave developing and before stem-elongation phase. The total amount of phenolic compounds in the sample was evaluated by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Data were analyzed with MSTAT-C statistic software and means compared by Duncan Multiple Range Test.
Results and Discussion: The most amounts of stem dry matter, flower dry matter and biomass were observed at vermicompost and non-stress treatment and the least amount of them was obtained from control and severe water stress condition. The highest amounts of leaf and root dry weight were obtained under vermicompost+humic acid and moderate water stress treatments and the least amount of leaf dry weight was observed at control and severe water stress treatments. At the same time with the increase of water stress, the impact of organic fertilizers on leaf dry weight decreased, however the application of organic fertilizers increased the leaf dry weight even under severe stress conditions. Maximum seed yield was observed under vermicompost+humic acid+NPK and NPK treatments with severe water stress condition. With increase in the stress level, root to shoot ratio was increased and the maximum amount of that was obtained in control treatment under severe water stress condition and the minimum amount of that was obtained at vermicompost and non-stress treatment. The application of vermicompost and humic acid increased root to shoot ratio in severe stress conditions and it were effective in developing root systems in these conditions. Maximum amounts of phenolic compounds were observed under humic acid+vermicompost treatment with severe stress condition and minimum of these compounds were obtained under humic acid treatment at no-stress. 
Conclusion: The response of aerial parts of plant was associated with a decrease in irrigation levels, however this trend was reversed in underground sections. Thus, the maximum amount of root dry weight, root to shoot ratio and root phenolic compounds were observed in severe stress treatment. The highest amount of Phenolic compounds of the root, the ultimate goal of this plant, were observed under humic acid+vermicompost combination treatments. Therefore the production of this plant in terms of supplying 50% of the required moisture content (is equivalent to 300 mm of irrigation during the one-year growth period) and the use of fertilizer treatments containing humic acid and vermicompost compounds is recommended.

Keywords

Humic‌ acid; Medicinal plants; NPK chemical fertilizer; Vermicompost

References

1-       Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. 2005. Commercial Echinacea Production .Edmonton, Alberta .Canada. Available at http://www.agric.gov.ab.ca /publication>

2-       Alizadeh A., and Kamali G.A. 2008. Crop Water Requirements in Iran. Emam Reza University Press .Mashhad. 227p. (In Persian)

3-       Arancon N., Edwards C.A., Bierman P., Welch C., and Metzger J.D. 2004. Influence of vermicomposts on field strawberries: 1.Effect on growth and yields. Bioresource Technology 93: 145-153.

4-       Atiyeh R.M, Arancon N., Edwards C.A., and Metzger J.D. 2001. The influence of pig manure on the growth earthworm-processed and productivity of marigolds. Bioresource Technology 81: 103-108.

5-       Atiyeh R., Lee S., Edwards C., Arancon N., and Metzger J. 2002. The influence of humic acids derived from earthworm-processed organic wastes on plant growth. Bioresource Technology 84: 7-14.

6-       Bachman C.R., and Metzger J.D. 2008. Growth of bedding plants in commercial potting subtract amended with vermicompost. Bioresource Technology 99: 3155-3161.

7-       Bending G.D., Turner M.K., and Jones J.E. 2002. Interactions between crop residue and soil organic matter quality and the functional diversity of soil microbial communities. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 34: 1073–1082.

8-       Cheong Y.H., Kim K.N., Pandey G.K., Gupta R., Grant J.J., and Luan S. 2003. CLB1, a calcium sensor that differentially regulates salt, drought, and cold responses in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell 15: 1833-1845.

9-       Dat J., Vandenabeele S., Vranova E., Van Montagu M., Inze D., and Van Breusegem F. 2000. Dual action of the active oxygen species during plant stress responses. Cellular and Molecular Life Science 57: 779-795.

10-   Dursun A., Guvenc I., and Turan M. 2002. Effects of different levels of humic acid on seedling growth and macro and micronutrient contents of tomato and eggplant. Acta Agrobotanica 56: 81-88.

11-   Franze C.H. 1983. Nutrient and Water Management for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. Acta Horticulturae 132: 203-215.

12-   Hojati M., Modarres-Sanavy S.A.M., Karimi M., and Ghanati F. 2011. Responses of growth and antioxidant systems in Carthamus tinctorius L. under water deficit stress. Acta Physiologiae Plantarum 33(1): 105-112.

13-   Hopkins W.G., and Huner N.P. 2004. Introduction to Plant Physiology (Third Edit). John Wiely and Sons, Inc. New York. 560 p.

14-   Goksoy A.T., Demir A.O., Turan Z.M., and Daustu N. 2004. Responses of sunflower to full and limited irrigation at different growth stages. Field Crop Research 87: 167-178.

15-   Gray D.E., Pallardy S.G., Garrett H.E., and Rottinghaus G.E. 2003. Acute drought stress and plant age effects on alkamide and phenolic acid content in purple coneflower roots. Planta Medica 69: 50–55.

16-   Jahan M., and Nassiri Mahallati M. 2012. Soil Fertility and Bio fertilizers. An Agro ecological Approach. Ferdowsi University of Mashhad Press, Mashhad, Iran. 250 p. (In Persian)

17-   Khan M., and Scullion J. 2002. Effects of metal (Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb or Zn) enrichment of sewage-sludge on soil micro-organisms and their activities. Applied Soil Ecology 20: 145-155.

18-   Khorasaninejad S., Alizadeh Ahmadabadi A., and Hemmati K. 2018. The effect of humic acid on leaf morphophysiological and phytochemical properties of Echinacea purpurea L. under water deficit stress. Scientia Horticulturae 239: 314-323.

19-   Kindscher K. 2016. Echinacea Herbal Medicine with a Wild History. Springer International Publishing. Switzerland. 238 pp.

20-   Kreft S. 2005. Cichoric acid content and biomass production of Echinacea purpurea plants cultivated in Slovenia. Pharmaceutical Biology 43(8): 662–665.

21-   Malik A.A., Suryapani S., and Ahmad J. 2011. Chemical vs organic cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants: the choice is clear .International Journal of Medicinal and Aromatic Plant 1(1): 5-13.

22-   Nickolee Z., Kjelgren R., Cerny-Koenig R., Kopp K., and Koenig R. 2006. Drought responses of six ornamental herbaceous perennials. Scientia Horticulture 109(3): 267-274.

23-   Omid Beygi R. 2010. Production and Processing of Medicinal Plants. Volume 4 First edition. Behnashr Publications. Mashhad. 423 p. (In Persian)

24-   Omid Beygi R .1998. Silymarin and Silybin production from wild and cultivated milk thistle seeds. Iranian Journal of Agricultural Science 29(2): 413-421. (In Persian with English abstract)

25-   Pathma J., and Sakthivel N. 2012. Microbial Diversity of Vermicompost Bacteria That Exhibit Useful Agricultural Traits and Waste Management Potential, vol. 1. Springer Plus, pp. 26.

26-   Razavi Nia M. 2012. Investigation of the effect of organic, chemical and combined fertilizers on quantitative and qualitative yield of Echinacea. Master's degree Thesis, Faculty of Agriculture. Tarbiat Modares University. (In Persian)

27-   Selmar D., and Kleinwächter M. 2013. Influencing the product quality by deliberately applying drought stress during the cultivation of medicinal plants. Industrial Crops and Products 42: 558-566.

28-   Siddique K.H.M., Walton G.H., and Seymour. 1993. A comparison of seed yields of winter grain legumes in Western Australia. Australian Journal of Express Agriculture 33: 915-922.

29-   Singer M.J., and Bissonnais L.Y. 1998. Importance of surface sealing in the erosion of some soils from a Mediterranean Climate. Geomorphology 24: 79-85.

30-   Slinkard K., and Singleton V.L. 1977. Total phenol analysis: automation and comparison with manual methods. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 28: 49-55.

31-   Taherkhani T., Rahmani N., Moradi A., and Zandi P. 2011. Assessment of nitrogen levels on flower yield of Calendula grown under different water deficit stress using drought tolerant indices. Journal of American Science 7: 591–598.

32-   Tejada M., Gonzales J.L. Garcina-Martinez A.M., and Parrado J. 2008. Effect of different green manures on soil biological properties and maize yield. Bioresource Technology 99(6): 1758-1767.

33-   Xiong L., Schumaker K.S., and Zhu J.K.  2002. Cell signaling during cold, drought, and salt stress. The Plant Cell 14: 165-183.

34-   Yousef R.M.M., Khalil S.E., and El-Said N.A.M. 2013. Response of Echinacea purpurea L. to irrigation water regime and bio fertilization in sandy soils. World Applied Sciences Journal 26(6): 771-782.

35-   Zandonadi D.B., Santos M.P., Dobbss L.B., Olivares F.L., Canellas L.P., Binzel M.L., Okorokova-Façanha A.L., and Façanha A.R. 2010. Nitric oxide mediates humic acids-induced root development and plasma membrane H+-ATPase activation. Planta 231: 1025-1036.