EFFECTS OF SALINITY AND THE INTERACTION BETWEENTHYMUS VULGARISANDLAVANDULA ANGUSTIFOLIAON GROWTH, ETHYLENE PRODUCTION AND ESSENTIAL OIL CONTENTS

Lavandula multifida response to salinity: Growth, nutrient uptake, and physiological changes

“…In our experiment, the proportion of biomass allocated to leaves (LWR) increased at higher salinity levels (Fig. 1B) in contrast to the findings of Cordovilla et al (2014) who reported that irrigation with saline waters for 3 weeks (50 and 100 mM NaCl) had no effect on LWR in Lavandula angustifolia . The decrease in SWR and the increase in RWR at the end of the experiment in plants of L. multifida irrigated with 100 and 200 mM NaCl suggests that under high salt stress, L. multifida altered the pattern of dry matter distribution as proposed by Cordovilla et al (2014) for Thymus vulgaris .…”

“…In our experiment, we did not find variation in the water content of the different organs under increasing NaCl concentration and this suggests that the plants successfully adjusted osmotically to the increasing salinity. Similar results were obtained in other species of the Lamiaceae such as Salvia officinalis ( Taârit et al, 2012), T. vulgaris , and L. angustifolia ( Cordovilla et al, 2014), in which the water content of the different organs was also calculated on the basis of fresh weight [see Equation (1)]. However, Oueslati et al (2010) reported that the water content on the basis of fresh weight in Mentha pulegium was drastically reduced by increasing the salt concentration in the culture medium for 2 weeks.…”

“…1A). Although this result might suggest a similar level of resistance to other members of the Lamiaceae , such as Salvia officinalis ( Taarit et al, 2009), Salvia sclarea ( Taarit et al, 2011), Lavandula angustifolia ( Cordovilla et al, 2014), and Mentha suaveolens ( Kasrati et al, 2014), all of which grew up to 50 mM NaCl without significant dry weight reduction, it is important to highlight that the duration of these studies (1 month) was shorter than that of our experiment (2 months). The longer duration of our experiment provided more time for damage to occur to the plants compared to the other species, suggesting that L. multifida may be the most resistant species of the Lamiaceae investigated.…”

Winery–distillery composts as partial substitutes of traditional growing media: Effect on the volatile composition of thyme essential oils

“…However, the comparison between the compositions of the essential oils produced in normal conditions or under salt stress, showed that chemical compositions were similar, suggesting that both species are moderately salt tolerant species. However, Cordovilla et al (2014), in a study of the effects of salinity and the interaction between T. vulgaris and Lavandula angustifolia on growth, essential oils and ethylene production, reported a decrease in the percentage of essential oils in thyme grown alone (from 4.08% to 3.61%) with moderate salinity. However, with high salinity, the production of essential oils was stimulated, corroborating the results obtained for thyme by Ezz El-Din et al (2009).…”

“…However, with high salinity, the production of essential oils was stimulated, corroborating the results obtained for thyme by Ezz El-Din et al (2009). This fact could be attributed to the function of secondary metabolites, including essential oils, as a self-defense component against stress conditions (Cordovilla et al, 2014).…”