Published in Scientific Papers. Series B, Horticulture, Vol. LXVIV, Issue 1
Written by Soheil KHANCHI, Asad ROKHZADI, Sirwan MOHAMMDIAZAR, Elena Maria DRĂGHICI
An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of zinc sulfate and glycine betaine on tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus L.) under different irrigation regimes, using a central composite design (CCD) in greenhouse conditions. The experimental factors included irrigation at 30, 65, and 100% of field capacity (FC), zinc sulfate at 0, 3, and 6 g/L, and glycine betaine (GB) at 0, 75, and 150 mM. The imposition of drought stress led to a decrease in plant height and shoot dry weight (DW), while the highest rate of essential oil (EO) content was obtained under mild stress conditions. The highest plant height was obtained with moderate amounts of zinc sulfate, while the maximum DW was obtained with the application of 6 g/L of zinc sulfate. GB application had no significant effect on plant height and DW, but applying intermediate GB level maximized the EO content. In general increasing stress intensity reduced plant growth traits, but by imposing a moderate drought stress and applying 75 mM of GB, the EO content can be maximized.
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