Effect of Zeolite and Biofertilizers on the Essential Oil Yield and Some Physiological Characteristics of Satureja hortensis L. under Water Deficit Stress

Garden or summer savory (Satureja hortensis L.) is one of the most important medicinal and aromatic plants that is cultivated in many parts of the world. Thus, in order to investigate the effect of zeolite and biofertilizer on essential oil yield, morphological and physiological characteristics of summer savory under water deficit stress, a split-factorial experiment was performed based on randomized complete block design with four replications at 2011 in Tehran, Iran. Irrigation regime with four levels (I1: 30, I2: 60, I3: 90 and I4: 120 irrigation after mm evaporation) and biofertilizer inoculation with three levels (B1: no inoculation, B2: inoculation with azospirillium + Mycorrhiza and B3: inoculation with Pseudomonas+Mycorrhiza) and zeolite with two levels (0 and 20 t.ha-1) were considered. The results showed that the highest essential oil yield was obtained under normal irrigation. The results showed that the biofertilizers were more effective on the content and yield of essential oil under normal irrigation conditions. Results also showed that the application of zeolite had a greater effect on increasing the essential oil yield in the absence of biofertilizer inoculation.