Evaluation of Growth Characteristics and Essential Oil Yield of Satureja hortensis L.under Salinity and Zn Foliar Spraying

Mass production of medicinal and aromatic plants under hydroponic systems and especially in saline soils is very important. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of salinity (0, 50 and 100 mM NaCl) and Zn foliar application (0,100, 200 and 300 mg.l-1 as ZnSO4, 7(H2O) on growth characteristics and essential oil content and yield of Satureja hortensis L. The study was arranged as factorial based on CRD with 4 replications. Some growth characteristics such as height, total plant fresh and dry weight, chlorophyll index, essential oil content and oil yield were measured. The results showed that salinity stress adversely affected the entire growth characteristics. Despite of generally accepted hypothesis, Zn application had positive effects on the growth parameters of stress-faced plants. Under hydroponic production systems Satureja was sensitive for 50 and 100 mM NaCl and the Zn foliar application up to 300 mg.l-1 had positive effects on the decreasing of salinity impacts.