Investigation on the effects of different concentrations of some fertilizers on yield, quality and essential and fixed oil composition of Nigella damascena

In this study, the effect of application of fertilizers with different ingredients in different doses in cultivation of Nigella damascena plant on morphological, yield and quality was investigated. According to the obtained results; plant height was 25.07-37.54 cm, and the number of branches per plant was on average 2.33-5.60, besides, it has been observed that root lengths vary between 4.33-8.62 cm. On the other hand, while the average amount of capsules per plant was between 3.53-7.10, the capsule width and length varied by 12.92-15.06 (mm) and 13.85-16.29 (mm), respectively. When evaluated in terms of seed yield, approximately 45.68-113.57 kg da-1 yield has been obtained also, seed weights in the capsule are 0.104-0.158 g, thousand grain weights 2.31-2.84 g and seed weights per plant ranged from 32 to 0.87 g/plant. While the fixed oil rate were seen between 34-36.48% in the application groups, the fixed oil yield was calculated as 15.53- 41.43 kg da-1 . As a result of GC-MS analysis, it was observed that the main compound of essential oils was between 19.47-61.13% β-elemene (sesquiterpen), followed by 6.91-34.53% damascenine (alkaloid). In addition, 17 fatty acids were observed in GC-FID analysis and it showed that fertilizer applications cause a variable effect on saturated and unsaturated fatty acid compositions.