The effect of integrated management of organic and chemical fertilizers on yield and qualitative characteristics in black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) medicinal plant

One of the aspects of the production of medicinal plants is lower consumption of chemical inputs which could be effective in protecting the environment in addition to maintaining or improving product quality. Therefore،this study was conducted in order to investigate the effect of integrated management of organic and chemical fertilizers on yield and qualitative characteristics in black cumin (Nigella sativa L.). This experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with nine treatments and three replications at the Shahrekord University in 2012. The treatments consisted of control (no amended nitrogen)، cattle manure، urea، three levels of split integrated fertilizer (cattle manure + urea، cattle manure + cattle manure + urea)، and three levels of full integrated fertilizer (cattle manure + urea، cattle manure + cattle manure + urea). Results indicated that the application of N-fertilizer caused significant increase in oil، protein and essence contents and their production in black cumin (p< 0. 01). Integrated application of organic manure + chemical fertilizer produced higher amount of oil، essence and protein in comparison with solitary application (p< 0. 01). The full dose application of urea fertilizer (FDA) significantly enhanced the content and production of oil (322 g kg -1 and 674 kg ha-1، respectively)، protein (248 gkg-1 and 595 kg ha-1، respectively)، essence (3. 1 gkg-1 and 7. 2 kgha-1، respectively) in comparison with split application. In conclusion، the full dose application of urea fertilizer (FDA) in integration with organic manure could enhance the quality of black cumin seed.