Effects of salt stress and silicon nutrition on cholorophyll content, yield and yield components in fennel (Foeniculum vulgar Mill.)

ABSTRACT: In order to study the effects of salt stress and silicon nutrition on yield and yield components in fennel (Meybod mass) an experiment was conducted at Shahrekord University in 2010. The factors were salinity stress (0,40 and 80 mM) and sodium silicate (0, .5 and 1 mM). The experiment design was factorial experiment in the base of randomized complete design with three replications. The measured traits were dry and fresh plant weight, umbel no./plant, 1000 seed weight, seed yield, essential oil of inflorescence and cholorophyll content. Mean comparison was conducted using LSD range test (at 5% level). Plants treated with NaCl alone showed a reduction in plant dry and fresh weight, umbel no./plant, 1000 seed weight and see yield but oil of inflorescence increased. The increased supply of Si enhanced the umbel no./plant and seed yield, when no salinity was applied. The increase of the salinity by adding NaCl had no significant influence on the dry and fresh plant weight, umbel no./plant, 1000 seed weight, seed yield, when Si was added to the saline solution. In plants treated with NaCl plus Si increased the factors that reduction.