Study on the mucilage content and composition of dragon’s head (Lallemantia iberica Benth.) with integrative application of mycorrhizal fungus and chemical fertilizer under rainfed conditions

To investigate the effect of integrative application of mycorrhizal fungus and chemical fertilizer on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of medicinal plant dragon’s head (Lallemantia iberica Benth.) under rainfed conditions, an experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with seven treatments and three replications in the research farm of Maragheh University, Iran, in 2017. Treatments included 100% conventional chemical fertilizer (250 and 150 kg ha-1 urea and triple superphosphate, respectively), Glomus mosseae (GM), G. intraradices (GI), 50% chemical fertilizer+GM, 50% chemical fertilizer+GIand 50% chemical fertilizer+GI+GM. The results demonstrated that the highest (802.8 kg ha-1) and lowest (463.5 kg ha-1) seed yield and the highest (40.64%) and lowest (25.85%) harvest index were achieved in the integrative application of 50% chemical fertilizer+GI+GMand separate application of GI treatments, respectively. Besides, the highest content (9.18%) and yield (73.75 kg ha-1) of mucilage was observed in 50% chemical fertilizer+GI+GM treatment. Furthermore, the highest amount of mucilage compounds (glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, arabinose, raffinose, galactose, glucose, xylose and rhamnose) was obtained in 50% chemical fertilizer+GI+GM treatment. Based on cluster analysis, the treatments were divided into three groups. In general, the application of 50% chemical fertilizer+GI+GM while reducing the use of chemical fertilizers improved the quantitative and qualitative yield of the dragon’s head.