Effect of Fertilizer Treatments and Irrigation Regimes on Lallemantia iberica Seed Mucilage Yield and Compounds

In order to compensate the effect of water deficit stress on the yield, percentage and composition of seed mucilage of the medicinal plant ‘Dragon’s head’ (Lallemantia iberica) under different irrigation regimes, a split plot experiment was conducted based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at the Agricultural Research Field of Shahid Beheshti college of Urmia in 2015. Treatments were included irrigation (after 40, 80, 120 and 160 mm of evaporation from pan class A) as main plots and fertilizer treatments (Glomus verruciform, Glomus intraradices, biological phosphorus (Barvar2), zeolite, zinc sulfate, salicylic acid and control) as sub plots. Results showed that the effect of irrigation levels on the percentage, yield and harvest index of mucilage was significant. Irrigation after 80 mm of evaporation produced the highest mucilage percentage (16.26 percent) and yield of mucilage (142.04 kg.ha-1). However, the maximum seed yield (886.02 kg.ha-1), yield of mucilage (138.35 kg.ha-1), biological yield (2815 kg.ha-1) and mucilage percentage (15.69 %) were obtained by applying biological phosphorus (Barvar 2). Analysis of Dragon’s head mucilage exhibited that the main components were glucose, galactose, uronic acid, galacturonic acid, glucuronic acid, xylose, fructose and ribose. Thus in irrigation after 80 mm of evaporation, application of biological phosphorus (Barvar2) and/or salicylic acid spraying were recommended, due to the balanced water consumption, and the highest yield of seed and the highest percentage, yield and harvest index of mucilage.