Biology, Vol 10, No 3 (2017)

Effect of biological and chemical fertilization on the yield and nutrients of Moldavian balm (Dracocephalum moldavica L.) seeds

saeede rahimzadeh, Yousef Sohrabi, Alireza Pirzad, Roghayyeh Sheykhbaglou

Abstract


To evaluate effect of biofertilizers on the yield and nutrients of Dracocephalum moldavica seeds, a field experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with four replications at the Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center of West Azerbaijan Urmia-Iran in 2010. Treatments were biofertilizers (seed inoculation with nitrogen fixing bacteria (N­b), phosphate solubilizing bacteria (Pb), sulfur oxidizing bacteria (Sb), N­b+Pb, Nb+Sb, Pb+Sb, N­b+Pb+Sb), chemical fertilizer (chemical origin of nitrogen+phosphorus+potassium (NPK)) and control (no fertilizer). Results indicated that the highest yield of seed (3366 kg ha-1) belonged to chemical origin of NPK. Maximum seed nitrogen (3.74%) and manganese (0.0062 mg kg-1) contents were obtained from Nb treatment. The highest percentage of sulfur (0.56%) and zinc (0.184 mg kg-1) were obtained from Sb treatment. While the maximum iron content (0.62 mg kg-1) was observed at N­b+Pb+Sb. In conclusion seed inoculation with Thiobacillus (Sb) improves seed nutrients availability in calcareous soils.