Effect of Tillage Systems and Fertilizer on Quality and Quantity of Marigold (Calendula officinalis L.)

Document Type : Scientific - Research

Authors

1 Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran

2 Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

Introduction
The marigold is a medicinal plant from Asteraceae family and widely used as a medicinal plant. The marigold extract is widely used in the traditional medicine and herbal therapy. According to previous studies on the medicinal plant in the natural and agricultural ecosystem, using the sustainable agricultural systems provides the best conditions for plant qualitative and quantitative production. So, the global approach in production of products especially medicinal plants is toward using the ecologic management methods in the format of sustainable agricultural systems. The objectives of this experiment were to study on the effect of using the nitrogen chemical fertilizers and the variety of composts in the format of different tillage systems on the leaf area, dry weight, flower yield and the extract yield of marigold plant.

Material and methods
A field experiment was conducted in order to assessing the effect of conventional farming, ecological management and semi ecological management systems on the dry weight and the height of plant, yield of flower, the percentage of extract and the essence of marigold, in two years of 2013 and 2014 in Fars province, Shiraz in the format of randomized complete block design with 4 replications and 12 treatments. All the data were submitted to an analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Least Significant Different test (LSD) was used to verify the significant differences among treatment means at the 5% probability level.

Results and discussion
The results of analysis of variance showed that the effect of different farming systems treatment on vegetative and reproductive growth of marigold were significant (p≤0.01) (Table 3). For example, the highest dry weight and leaf area of marigold were obtained from the conventional tillage system treatment and 165 kg ha-1 urea fertilizer. Furthermore, the highest flower dry weight, the number of flower and flowers harvest index and extract yield of marigold were achieved by reduce tillage system and 80 kg ha-1 urea fertilizer and 10 ton ha-1 waste compost (Table4). It seems that the application of chemical nitrogen fertilizer could increase marigold vegetative growth due to increase of absorption and transfer of photo assimilate and transmission of growth-stimulating hormones to lateral and end meristems. Meanwhile, improving vegetative growth of marigold and increasing photo assimilate content can be achieve more reproductive growth. So, the management of nitrogen consumption should be in a way that the maximum economical performance will be obtained. The important point in this regard is creating appropriate balance between vegetative and reproductive growth of marigold, because from the beginning of flowering, vegetative and reproductive stages are done in parallel with each other (Daneshian et al., 2013). As a whole, in case of approving this study results by the future farm studies, it maybe recommendable that application of chemical fertilizer and compost at the same time in the format of reduce tillage system leads to increase of qualitative and quantitative performance of marigold plant.
Acknowledgements
At the end, I appreciate all the friends that help me for conducting this research.

Keywords


Abdullah, A.S. 2014. Minimum tillage and residue management increase soil water content, soil organic matter and canola seed yield and seed oil content in the semiarid areas of Northern Iraq. Soil and Tillage Research (144): 150–155.
Ahmadi, M., and Bahrani, M.J. 2009. Yield and yield component of rapeseed as influenced by water stress at different growth stage and nitrogen levels. American-Eurasian Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Science (5): 755-761.
Alaa, E.H., Karim, M.B., and Mushtaq, T.H.A. 2014. The impact of peat moss and sheep manure compost extracts on marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) growth and flowering. Journal of Organic Systems (9): 56-62.
Albiach, R., Canet, R., Pomares, F., and Ingelmo, F. 2001. Organic matter components and aggregate stability after the application of different amendments to a horticultural soil. Environmental Pollution (76): 125-129.
Ameri, A., Nassiri, M., and Rezvani, P. 2007. Effects of different nitrogen levels and plant density on flower, essential oils and extract production and nitrogen use efficiency of Marigold (Calendula officinalis). Iranian Journal of Agronomy Research (5): 315-325. (In Persian with English summary)
Arancon, N., Edwards, C.A, Bierman, P., Welch, C., and Metzger, J.D. 2004. Influences of vermin-composts on field strawberries: 1. Effects on growth and yield. Bio-resource technology (93): 145-153.
Azizi, M., Lakziyan, A., Arooyi, H., and Baghani, M. 2008. Effect of different levels of vermi-compost and vermin wash spray on morphological trait and essential oil of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.). Science and Industrial Agriculture (21): 41-52. (In Persian with English summary)
Black, C.A. 2003. Soil fertility evaluation and control. First Edition. Lewis Publisher, London 768 pp.
Bremmer, J.M., and Mulvaney, C.S. 1982. Total nitrogen. In. Page, A.L., et al., (Eds.), Methods of soil analysis. Part 2. 2nd ed. American Social Agronomy, USA 595-624.
Butnariu, M., and Coradini, Z.C. 2012. Evaluation of biologically active compounds from Calendula officinalis flowers using spectrophotometry. Butnariu and Coradini Chemistry Central Journal (6): 1-7.
Crabtree, R.J., and Rupp, R.N. 1980. Double and mono-cropped wheat and soybeans under different tillage and row spacing. Agronomy Journal (27): 445-448.
Castro. E., Manas, P., and De las Heras, J. 2009. A comparision of the applications of different waste products to a lettuce crop: Effects on plant and soil properties. Scientia Horticulturae (123): 148-155.
Chand, S., Pande, P., Prasad, A., Anwar, M., and Patra, D.D. 2007. Influence of Integrated supply of vermi-compost and zinc-enriched compost with two grade levels of iron and zinc on the productivity of Geranium. Soil Science and Plant Analysis (38): 2581-2599.
Clevenger, J.F. 1928. Apparatus for determination of essential oil. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association (17): 346–349.
Daneshian, J., Rahmani, N., and Alimohammadi, M. 2013. Effects of nitrogen and manure fertilizer application on yield and yield components of calendula (Calendula officinalis L.) under water deficit stress conditions. Journal of Agronomy Research (5): 251-261. (In Persian with English Summary)
Dikgwatlhe, S.B., Chen, Z.D., Lal, R., Zhang, H.L., and Chen, F. 2014. Changes in soil organic carbon and nitrogen as affected by tillage and residue management under wheat–maize cropping system in the North China Plain. Soil and Tillage Research (144): 110–118.
Darzi, M.T., Ghalavand, A., and Rejali, F. 2009. The effects of biofertilizers application on N, P and K assimilation and seed yield in fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.). Iranian Journal of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (25): 1-19. (In Persian with English Summary)
Edwards, J.H., Thurlow, D.L., and Eason, J.T. 1988. Influence of tillage and crop rotation on yields of corn, soybean and wheat. Agronomy Journal (80): 76-80.
Gehan, G., Mostafa, A., and Abo-Baker, A.A. 2010. Effect of bio-and chemical fertilizers on sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) growth at south valley area. Asian Journal of Crop Science (2): 137-146.
Ghilavizadeh, A., Darzi, M.T., and Hadi, M. 2013. Effects of biofertilizer and plant density on essential oil content and yield traits of Ajowan (Carum copticum). Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research (14): 8-12.
Hosseini Mazinani, M., and Hadipoor, A. 2014. Improving yield quality and quantity of marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) by bio-fertilizers application. Medicinal Plants Journal (2): 83-91. (In Persian with English Summary)
Jeyabal, A. and Kupposwamy, G., 2001. Recycling of organic wastes for the production of vermicompost and it’s response in rice-legume cropping system and soil fertility. European Journal of Agronomy (15): 153-170.
Lapornik, B., Prosek, M., and Wondra, A.G. 2005. Comparison of extracts prepared from plant by-products using different solvents and extraction time. Journal of Food Engineering (71): 214–222.
Lopez–Bellide, L., Castillo, J.E., and Lopez- Bellido, F.J. 2005. Effect of tillage, crop rotation, and nitrogen fertilization on wheat under rain-fed Mediterranean conditions. Agronomy Journal (92): 1054-1063.
Marbet, R. 2000. Differential response of wheat to tillage management systems in a semi-arid area of Morocco. Field Crops Research (66): 165-174.
Mohammadi, K., Heidari, G., Javaheri, M., Rokhzadi, A., Karimi Nezhad, M.T., Sohrabi, Y., and Talebi, R. 2013. Fertilization affects the agronomic traits of high oleic sunflower hybrid in different tillage systems. Industrial Crops and Products (44): 446-451.
Muley, B.P., Khadabadi, S.S., and Banarase, N.B. 2009. Photochemical constituents and pharmacological activities of Calendula officinalis L. (Asteraceae): A Review. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research (8): 455-65.
Olsen, S.R., Cole, C.V., Watanabe, F.S., and Dean, L.A. 1954. Estimation of available phosphorus in soils by extraction with sodium bicarbonate. USDA circular 939. U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
Omid Baigi, R., and Nobakht, A. 2001. Nitrogen fertilizer affecting growth, seed yield and active substances of Milk thistle (Silybum marinum). Pakistan Journal of Biological Science (4): 1342-1349.
Omidi, H., Tahmasebi, Z., Naghdi Badi, HA., Torabi, H., and Miransari, M. 2010. Fatty acid composition of canola (Brassica napus L.) as affected by agronomical, genotypic and environmental parameters. Journal of Comptes Rendus Biologies (333): 248-254.
Pirasteh Anooshe, H., Emam, Y., and Jamali Ramin, F. 2010. Effects of bio and chemical fertilizers on sunflower (Helianthus annuss L.) growth, yield, and oil percentage under different levels of salt stress. Journal of Agroecology (2): 492-501. (In Persian with English Summary)
Rahimi, A.R., Mashayekhi, K., Amini, S., and Soltani, E. 2009. Effect of mineral vs. biofertilizer on the growth, yield and essential oil content of Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.). Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Science and Biotechnology (3): 2-4.
Richards, J.E., and Bates, T.E. 1989. Studies on the potassium-sup‌plying capacities of southern Ontario soils. III. Measurement of available K. Canadian Journal of Soil Science (69): 597–610.
Sanches, G.E., Rodrigues Gonzales, H., and Carballo G.C. 2005. Influence of organic manures and bio-fertilizers on the quality of two species of medicinal Calendula officinalis. Revista Cubana de Plantas Medicinales (10): 1-10.
Sanchez, G.E., Carballo, G.C., and Ramos, G.S.R. 2008. Influence of organic manures and bio-fertilizers on the quality of two Plantaginaceae: Plantago major L. and Plantago lanceolata L. Revista Cubana de Plantas Medicinales (13): 12-15.
Sharma, A.K. 2004. Biofertilizers for Sustainable Agriculture. Agrobios, India 407 pp.
Singh, Y., Ladha, J.K., Khind, C.S., and Bueno, C.S. 2004. Effects of residue decomposition on productivity and soil fertility in rice- wheat rotation. Soil Science Society American Journal (68): 854-864.
Sumner, M.E. 2000. Beneficial use of effluents, wastes, and bio-solids. Communication in Soil and Plant Analyses (31): 1701- 1715.
39- Varela, M.F., Scianca, C.M., Taboada, M.A., and Rubio, G. 2014. Cover crop effects on soybean residue decomposition and P release in no-tillage systems of Argentina. Soil and Tillage Research (143): 59-66.
40- Wolkowski, R.P. 2003. Nitrogen management considerations for land spreading municipal solid waste compost. Journal of Environmental Quality (32): 1844-1850.
CAPTCHA Image