Effect of NPK and foliar nutrition on growth,yield and chemical constituents in Nigella sativa L.

The seeds of nigella sativa l. (family ranunculaceae) have been widely used in the treatment of different diseases and ailments. in islamic literature,it is considered as one of the greatest forms of healing medicine. plant nutrition one of the most important factors that increase plant production. thus,the main objective of the present investigation was to study the effect of different levels of npk fertilizers,foliar nutrition and their interactions on the morphological and biochemical contents of nigella sativa l. the effect of npk and foliar nutrition on the growth [plant height (cm),leaf number (plant-1),branch number (plant-1),capsule number (plant-1),herb dry weight (plant-1) and seed yield (plant-1)] was measured and quantitative analysis of fixed oil,total carbohydrate,soluble sugars and nutrient content were performed. the most effective rate was n3p3k3 x foliar nutrition interaction,resulting in a positive increase in vegetative growth. the highest values of vegetative growth characters were 27.7,41.4 cm (plant height); 55.4,51.9 (leaf number); 10.2,11.7 plant-1 (branch number); 15.5,20.8 plant-1 (capsule number); 47.1,49.4 g plant-1 (herb dry weight); 4.3,4,7 g plant-1 (seed yield) during the first and second seasons respectively. as well as n3p3k3 x foliar nutrition led to higher biochemical contents than the control. the highest values of chemical contents were 22.9 and 25.1% (fixed oil); 33.0,30.1 % (total carbohydrate); 16.9,8% (soluble sugars); 23.7 and 24.8 % (protein); 3.8 and 4 % (n); 0.4 and 0.4 % (p); 1.2 and 1.8 % (k) during the first and second seasons respectively.