Evaluation of Some Growth Characteristics, Essential oil Content and Yield of Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) in Salinity Stress Condition and Humic Acid Application

Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) an herbaceous annual fragrant herb belongs to the Lamiaceae family is a cosmopolitan herb and aromatic plant with abundant applications in pharmaceutical, food and fragrance Industries. The effects of salinity (0 and 50 mM NaCl) and applications of humic acid 18% (0, 500,1000 and 2000 mg.l-1) on some growth characteristics such as chlorophyll index, height, leaf number, total plant fresh, dry weight, essential oil content and yield were investigated under hydroponic production. This study was conducted by factorial experiment in randomized complete block design with two factors. The result showed that the growth characteristics of plants under 25 mM NaCl salinity with application of 500 mg/l humic acid had no significant differences with control. The highest essential oil content was recorded in 50mM NaCl salinity and the lowest was obtained in control. In general, the result of this experiment showed that salinity stress decreased on all growth characteristics but application of humic acid improved the negative effects of salinity stress.