The study of yield traits and oil components in three populationa of Ziziphora tenuir L. cultivated in Esfahan

Ziziphora teniur is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family. The plant is very rich in compounds such as sterols, fatty acids and flavonoids and its active ingredients are used in pharmacy. In spite of the of the perennial species of the plant, a little research has been done on this annual species, Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the reaction of different plant populations to cultivation in one place.

The experiment was conducted during 2017-2019 in Fozveh station of Agricultural and Natural Resource Research Center of Isfahan. The experiment was on the basis of randomized complete block design with 3 replications Treatments were 3 populations of Ziziphora teniur. Measured traits included: fresh and dry shoot weight, plant height, dry to wet weight ratio, 1000-seed weight, single plant seed weight, percentage and yield of essential oil and essential oil compounds. The percentage of essential oil was measured by water distillation (Clevenger), the amount of essential oil compounds was measured by gas chromatography (GC) and the qualification of essential oil was measured by Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Data analysis was performed with SAS 9.1 software and the mean of treatments was compared with LSD test (p≤ 0.05).

The results of two years indicated that the studied populations were significantly different in terms of all studied traits. Gamishloo and Damaneh populations had the highest and lowest seed yield and shoot dry yield with average (42 and 566 kg/ha) and (33.6 and 406 kg/ha) respectively. The highest amount of essential oil percentage and oil yield were observed in Kolahghazi population. Experimental years had a significant effect on aerial dry matter yield and essential oil percentage. Results of the interactive effect of genotype*year revealed that Gamishloo population had the highest seed yield and aerial dry yield during 2 years. 19 components were found in 3 populations oil. Polegone observed as the main essential oil component. Its rate was variable from 43% (Gamishloo) to 90% (Damaneh and KolahGhazi).

In general, the results of this study indicated that the studied populations had the sufficient genetic diversity for various traits such as shoot yield, seed yield and essential oil percentage. The existence of this diversity can pave the way for remedial work in the future. This plant can also be introduced as an appropriate source to provide a combination of Polegone used in food and pharmaceutical industries.