Abstract:
Results obtained from a fertilizer experiment conducted with thirteen
treatments indicate the positive effect of phosphorus and magnesium nutrition
on the yield and the fractional composition of essential oil of Cymbopogon
nardus. Phosphorus nutrition has increased the "total geraniol" (total acetylisable
compounds) in oil. Magnesium in combination with phosphorus
fertilizers significantly increased the total geraniol at the second harvest. The
increase of total geraniol was always accompanied by the decrease of total
hydrocarbons, which indicates the better utilization of monoterpenes in biosyntheis
of constituents of total geraniol in oil as a result of phosphorus nitrition.
Phosphorus content in leaves has positive relationships with total geraniol
(r=+O.5), essential oil yield (r= +0.58) and output of total geraniol
(r=+0.59). The optimum phosphorus concentrations in leaves after four
months of planting that produced maximum yields of essential oil and total
geraniol by this crop were found to be in the range of 0.23-0.26 %.
