Exogenous application of ascorbic acid improves physiological and productive traits of Nigella sativa

Abid Mehmood; Khalid Naveed; Ke Liu; Matthew Tom Harrison; Shah Saud; Shah Hassan; Taufiq Nawaz; Bikram Dhara; Dong-Qin Dai; Iftikhar Ali; Muhammad Adnan; Khaled El-Kahtany; Shah Fahad

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28766

Exogenous application of ascorbic acid improves physiological and productive traits of Nigella sativa

Heliyon. 2024 Mar 28;10(7):e28766. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28766. eCollection 2024 Apr 15.

Authors

Abid Mehmood^{1

2}, Khalid Naveed², Ke Liu³, Matthew Tom Harrison³, Shah Saud⁴, Shah Hassan⁵, Taufiq Nawaz⁶, Bikram Dhara^{7

8}, Dong-Qin Dai¹, Iftikhar Ali^{9

10}, Muhammad Adnan¹¹, Khaled El-Kahtany¹², Shah Fahad¹³

Affiliations

¹ Center for Yunnan Plateau Biological Resources Protection and Utilization, Yunnan Engineering Research Center of Fruit Wine, College of Biological Resource and Food Engineering, Qujing Normal University, Qujing, Yunnan, China.
² Department of Agronomy, The University of Haripur, Pakistan.
³ Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania, Burnie, 7250, Tasmania, Australia.
⁴ College of Life Science, Linyi University, Linyi, Shandong, 276000, China.
⁵ Department of Agricultural Extension Education & Communication, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, 25130, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
⁶ Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, 57007, USA.
⁷ Center for Global Health Research, Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, Tamil nadu, India.
⁸ Department of Health Sciences, Novel Global Community Educational Foundation, Hebasham, NSW, Australia.
⁹ Centre for Plant Science and Biodiversity, University of Swat, Charbagh, 19120, Pakistan.
¹⁰ School of Life Sciences & Center of Novel Biomaterials, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China.
¹¹ Department of Agriculture, The University of Swabi, Swabi, (23561), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
¹² Geology and Geophysics Department, College of Science, King Saud University, PO Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
¹³ Department of Agronomy, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 23200, Pakistan.

Abstract

For thousands of years, plants have been utilized for medicinal purposes. For its naturally existing antibacterial properties, Nigella sativa is one of the most researched herbs. A study was conducted during rabi 2020-21 at The University of Haripur in order to evaluate the potential of ascorbic acid as plant growth enhancer. Two concentrations of ascorbic acid i-e 350 μm and 400 μm were sprayed along with control and water only spray on Nigella sativa crop. The study was arranged in RCBD two factor factorial arrangement. Factor A: ascorbic acid concentrations along with control and water spray, factor B: Growth stages (Stage1 = 40 days after sowing, Stage 2 = 80 DAS, Stage 3 = 120 DAS, Stage 4 = 40 + 80 DAS, Stage 5 = 40 + 120 DAS, Stage 6 = 80 + 120 DAS, Stage 7 = 40 + 80 + 120 DAS). Crop was sown in first week of November. Results reviled that chlorophyll b content, fixed oil content, 1000 seed weight, grain yield, Photosynthetic rate (μ mole m^-2s^-1), Transpiration rate (mmole m^-2s^-1), photosynthetic water use efficiency, Internal CO₂ concentration (Ci) of leaf tissue and Stomatal conductance (mmole m^-2s^-1) were significantly affected by ascorbic acid concentrations and stage of application. Crop growth rate increased by 19.88% and 17.29%, chlorophyll b by 12.3% and 11.2%, fixed oil by 11.7% and 9%, grain yield by 10.29% and 9.8%, harvest index by 4% and 5.7% photosynthetic rate by 33%, 20% and stomatal conductance by 24.24% and 24.25 with application of ascorbic acid @ 350 μm, over control and water spray respectively. On the basis of these results it is concluded that application of ascorbic acid at the rate of 350 μm, followed by ascorbic acid at the rate of 400 μm significantly improves black cumin (Nigella sativa) yield and production. Hence it is recommended to apply ascorbic acid at the rate of 350 μm at 40 + 80+120 days after sowing of Nigella sativa crop for obtaining maximum results.

Keywords: Ascorbic acid; Essential oil content; Haripur; Photosynthetic rate; Photosynthetic water use efficiency; Stomatal conductance.