Effect of seasonal variation on the growth and chemical composition of cynara cardunculus L. plants

Cynara cardunculus l. (family asteraceae),is a highly nutritious plant contains medically active compounds such as flavonoid,polyphenol,caffeoylquinic acids. during the few decades seasonal changes affect the production of crop worldwide. in this study,we studied the changes in the vegetative growth and chemical composition during the growing season from the first of february to the first of june. the samples were harvested monthly from the three replicates during 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 seasons. the results obtained in this study showed changes in physiological factors (plant height,number of leaves) and leaves biomass (fresh and dry weight) increased progressively with age of plant from february to june. but these increments were reached beyond in may at a significant level. the active ingredient,carbohydrate,flavonoid and polyphenol increased gradually with age up to may which gave the maximum value. while,caffeic acid,vanillic acid and chlorogenic acid reached the maximum value during april month. © 2017,university of mohammed premier - oujda morocco.