Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
2 Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.
3 Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
Abstract
Keywords
Main Subjects
Effect of municipal waste compost and farmyard manure on water deficit in basil (Ocimum basilicum L)
EXTENDED ABSTRACT
Drought is one of the most common and important factors limiting production in the arid and semi-arid regions is drought. Amending the soil with organic components is expected to improve the effects of drought on plants. The application of compost and manure in the soil, as two organic amendments, can potentially affect the physical and chemical quality of the soil by increasing organic matter levels and nutrient status. As a result, organic fertilizers use has direct and indirect effects on the improvement of the soil properties, as well as on plants growth and yields. Basil, as a herbal plant, has important medicinal properties including hypoglycemic, antispasmodic, lowering blood pressure, and strengthening the body's natural activity and anti-inflammation. The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effects of municipal waste compost and farmyard manure on the growth characteristics of basil (Ocimum basilicum L) under water deficit.
To study the effects of deficit irrigation and biofertilizers (municipal waste compost and farmyard manure) on the growth and phytochemical characteristics of basil (Ocium basilicum L.), a factorial experiment, based on a completely randomized design with three replications was conducted in 2022 in the greenhouse of Razi University, Kermanshah. Water deficit, as a major factor in three levels, including irrigation at 50, 75 and 100% of field capacity (FC), biofertilizers consisted of municipal waste compost at three levels of 15, 30 and 45 ton/haand 45 ton/ha, and cow manure at three levels of 15, 30 and 45 ton/ha. For the manure, the treatment without manure and also for the compost, the treatment without compost considered as control. Before planting, municipal waste compost and farmyard manure were mixed with the soil samples, based on the levels of experimental treatments. At the end of vegetative growth and at the beginning of flowering, some growth parameters are determined and calculated as the average of each plant. Data analysis was done using SPSS software and comparison of means was done by Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at α=0.05.
The analysis of variance showed that the intraction effects of municipal waste compost and farmyard manure on most of the morphological parameters and phytochemical characteristics, i.e., proline, soluble sugars, chlorophyll l and ll and carotenoid, were significant (P ≤ 0.01) under water deficit. Also, comparisons of means showed that the sever water deficit (50% of FC) resulted in a significant reduction in all the vegetative traits in basil. The results showed that the effect of compost and farmyard manure under water deficit on most of the growth characteristics as well as the amounts of proline, soluble sugars and plant pigments were significant (P≤0.01). The highest shoot and root dry weight (2.1 and 1.7 g, respectively), shoot height (24.1 cm), leaf area (75.5 cm2) and relative water content (29.3 %) were obtained with application of 45 tons/ha of compost, 45 tons/ha of manure and field capacity (FC). Also, the highest amount of proline (9.78 μmol/g) and soluble sugars (1.06 mg/g) were found under 50% of FC, without the use of compost and manure.
The results of the experiment confirmed that organic amendments through improving soil physical and chemical properties increased growth characteristics of plants, under water deficit. In general, the simultaneous use of municipal waste compost and cow manure is a simple, suitable and cheap strategy to reduce the effects of water deficit in basil.