The Role of Shade and Nitrogen on Physiological Traits and Secondary Metabolites of Piper betle L

Piper betle, better known as purple betel has received a universal attention due to its increasing medicinal value. There is enormous potential to discover various new medicinal compounds in this species and an instantaneous need for the techniques to facilitate the production of high quality. In that connection, shade and nitrogen could play a significant role in the development of a phytochemical production. Therefore, the current study utilized the different levels of shade and rates of nitrogen. After harvesting of three months Piper betle seedlings, different physio-chemical traits were observed including photosynthetic rate, stomata conductor, transpiration rates, chlorophyll content (a, b, ab) and secondary metabolites ( total phenolics contents (TPC) concentration, total flavonoids contents (TFC) concentration and antioxidant activate (DPPH and FRAP). The chlorophyll content was more under 30% and 50% shades with 100 kg/ ha of N, whereas full sunlight with 0 kg/ha of N was unsuitable for the Piper betle crop as the high light intensity caused scorching on leaves and stunted in growth, accumulation secondary metabolites and Antioxidant activates. The results of the present study revealed the establishment of shade techniques which influenced the production parameters of the piper species. These findings are an overview of the recent advances and could be further helpful in in vivo studies of Piper betel in regard to their physiological parameters.