Effects of biofertilizers and zinc sulfate on some morphological and yield characteristics of Satureja hortensis L.

To study the effect of biofertilizers and zinc sulfate on some morphological and yield characteristics of summer savory (Satureja hortensis L.), an experiment was conducted as a factorial in a randomized complete block design with three replications in the research farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Maragheh University in 2013. Treatments included biofertilizers (1: no inoculation (control), seeds inoculated with 2: Nitroxin and 3: Super Nitro Plus) and foliar spray of plants with zinc sulfate (the concentration of 0, 2.5 and 5 per thousand). The results showed that the effect of biofertilizers and zinc sulfate on the number of branches per plant, flowering shoots dry weight per plant, wet and dry weight of aerial parts at 50% flowering stage, biological yield and essential oil yield was significant. The highest values of these traits were obtained in Super Nitro Plus and Nitroxin inoculation treatments, respectively. Plant height was also increased by applying zinc sulfate at concentrations of 2.5 and 5 per thousand compared to the control. Stem diameter reached to the maximum value under Super Nitro Plus + zinc sulfate foliar spray at a concentration of 2.5 per thousand and Nitroxin + zinc sulfate foliar spray at a concentration of 5 per thousand treatments. The treatments of zinc sulfate at a concentration of 5 per thousand + Super Nitro Plus and zinc sulfate at a concentrations of 2.5 and 5 per thousand + Nitroxin with the highest percentage of essential oil, increased the amount of summer savory essential oil by 34.5% compared to the control. In summary, the results of this study showed that Super Nitro Plus, Nitroxin, and zinc sulfate can be used to promote plant growth and increase the essential oil of summer savory.