Effect of vermicompost on the growth,chlorophyll, carotenoid, phenol, sugar, and relative water content in different landraces of fennel

Today, the use of organic products is very popular. In this regard, there is a huge demand for organic fennel. Moreover, due to the use of fennel in various industries, the demand for this medicinal plant is rapidly increasing in the global market. Vermicompost has a high capacity of ventilation and water storage, useful aerobic microorganisms, plant growth regulators and a large amount of macro and micro-nutritional elements and can play an effective role in the growth and quality of plants. In order to investigate the application of vermicompost on the fennel plant, the effect of 5% volumetric ratio of vermicompost-loam soil on the fennel landraces of Urmia, Bushehr, Shiraz, and Mashhad was investigated as a factorial experiment in the randomized complete block design in three replications. Plants were cultured in the greenhouse conditions and after five weeks they were sampled. The results showed that with the application of vermicompost the length, dry weight, and soluble sugar content of shoot were significantly increased in all four fennel landraces. In these conditions, the insoluble sugar content of Shiraz and Urmia landraces was decreased significantly. In all studied landraces, the content of total chlorophyll, carotenoid, and total phenol were significantly increased in the presence of vermicompost, except for Urmia, Bushehr, and Mashhad, respectively. An increase in relative water content was also observed in Urmia and Bushehr landraces. Therefore, the use of vermicompost regarding its physicochemical properties can be beneficial for producing organic products with high quantity and quality.

کلیدواژه ها:

Growth regulators ، Greenhouse conditions ، Organic fertilizers ، Medicinal plant ، Organic products