ABSTRACT
Background: According to the importance of Stevia rebaudiana that it's sweetener steviol glycosides, has been introduced in recent year as a natural alternative for saccharose, the evaluation of bio-fertilizers effects on growth and development of stevia is necessary
Objective: In this research the effect of vermicompost and mycorrhiza on growth traits and steviosid [ST] content in Stevia rebaudiana was studied
Methods: This research was conducted in faculty of agriculture of Tarbiat Modarres University, Tehran, Iran, through a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design with 12 treatments and 3 replications. The first factor was different levels of vermicompost [0, 10% and 20%] in basal medium including garden soil + 15% by weight Cow manure and also garden soil alone as a control treatment. Second factor was mycorrhiza fungi including inoculation Glomus mosseae and Piriformospora indica and treatment of non-inoculated plants.
Results: The bio-fertilizers had significant effect [P and le;0.01] on the studied parameters. The maximum amount of growth parameters [chlorophyll content, and fresh and dry weight of aerial parts and root] was obtained treatment of 20% of vermicompost and Glomus mosseae inoculation. The highest content of steviosid was obtained in end of vegetative growth stage and control treatment
Conclusion: Application of vermicompost significantly improved the chlorophyll content and growth traits and also the highest their amounts were obtained in combination treatment of vermicompost and mycorrhizal inoculation
ABSTRACT
Mentha piperita and Thymus vulgaris are two important species of family Lamiaceae that abundantly used in pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic and hygienic industries. Objectives in this study were the effect of different concentration of auxin and fungi Piriformospora indica and Sebacina vermifera on the growth and development of peppermint and thymein vitro condition. Two distinct experiments were conducted; the first evaluate the effect of different auxin levels [IAA NAA IBA] on M. piperita and T. vulgaris growth, and the second examined the effect of two fungi Piriformospora indica and Sebacina vermifera on plant height, root length, shoots and root weight in in vitro in a completely randomized design. The first study suggested the most effective hormone dose for the M. piperita growth was 1mg per liter of IBA and in the T. vulgaris it was 1 mg per liter of IAA. Increasing of the hormone doses resulted in growth decrease. The second study evolved that growth of the plants inoculated with fungi increased significantly. The data indicated that the plants inoculated with S. vermifera were the highest of all and the plants inoculated with P. indica had the most weight. The nodes of M. piperita and numbers of shoots in T. vulgaris increased significantly. These results indicate that the best hormone for tissue culture peppermint and thyme are 1mg per liter of IBA and IAA, respectively. Also using these fungi can increase grow and development of plants