INFLUENCE OF SEED RATE AND FERTILIZATION ON YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENTS OF Nigella sativa L. CULTIVATED UNDER MEDITERRANEAN SEMI-ARID CONDITIONS

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted to determine the effect of seed rate and fertilization on yield and yield components of Nigella sativa crop. The experiment was laid out according to a split-plot design with three replicates, two main plots (seed rates: 50 kg ha^-1 and 60 kg ha^-1) and four sub-plots (fertilization treatments: untreated, compost, sheep manure, inorganic fertilizer). Plants were higher in plots sown at a rate of 60 kg ha^-1 (18.2-22.7 cm). The highest number of capsules per plant (5.0-5.8) were found in sub-plots subjected to inorganic fertilization. Moreover, there were significant differences between fertilization treatment regarding seed yield and biological yield. The highest seed yield (911-1066 kg ha^-1) and biological yield (3864-4063 kg ha^-1) were found in inorganic treatments. The number of branches per plant, number of seeds per capsule, thousand-seed weight, and Harvest Index was not affected neither by seed rate nor by fertilization. Finally, there was not any significant interaction between seed rate and fertilization.