Composition of essential oil in coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) as influenced by manure and amino acid application

The main objective of this investigation was to study the effects of manure and amino acid foliar application on the quantity and quality of essential oil in coriander. The experiment was conducted at the research fields of Islamic Azad University, Roudehen, Iran in the spring of 2017. The experiment was carried out as a factorial arrangement based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The factors were manure application at five levels (0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 ton ha-1) and amino acid foliar application at two levels (control and foliar application). Results showed that the highest essential oil content (0.56%) and geranyl acetate (2.61%) were obtained by using 12 ton ha-1 of manure. But, applying 9 ton ha-1 of manure resulted in maximum alpha-pinene (10.83%) and linalool (69.93 %). Mean comparison showed that amino acid foliar application caused maximum essential oil content (0.5%), alpha-pinene (10.35%), and linalool (68.20%). Gamma-terpinene and orto-cimene content in essential oil were significantly affected by the interaction of treatments so that the maximum gamma-terpinene (10.16%) was obtained by using 6 ton ha-1 of manure with amino acid foliar application whereas the highest orto-cimene content (1.58%) was observed by using 9 ton ha-1 of manure with amino acid foliar application. Overall, the results of this experiment show that manure and foliar application of amino acid play an important role in improving the quality of the essential oil of coriander in a sustainable production system.