Effect of Azotobacter chroococcum and Different Rates of Nitrogen Fertilizer on Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea L. Moench) Yield and Phytochemical Properties

In order to study the effects of biological and chemical fertilizers on quantitative and qualitative yields of coneflower, an experiment was carried out in agricultural farm research on Parsabad in Ardebil. The experiment was as factorial based on a randomized complete block design with four replications. Experimental factors included N fertilizer (N0 = 0, N1 = 75 and N2 = 150 kg ha-1) and Azotobacter (inoculation with A. chroococcum bacteria SW22 strain = B1and non–inoculation = B0).The morphological traits such as plant height, number of lateral shoots, shoot fresh and dry weight, root fresh and dry weight, number of flowers per plant and phenol, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentration were measured. The results showed significant effects of the treatments on the growth parameters. Inoculum with Azotobacter + 75 kg N ha-1 improved important parameters such as shoot dry weight (40.42%), root dry weight (60.02%), and number of flower plant-1 (65.68%). Additionally, phenol, N and P concentration in plants treated with the Azotobacter + 75 kg N ha-1 were 25.11%, 34.6% and 39.8% higher than the control plants. The results indicate that using biological fertilizers is a good choice to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers as an important tool to contribute to a sustainable agriculture.