Phytochemical Responses of White Savory (Satureja mutica Fisch and C.A.Mey.) to Foliar Application of Seaweed Extract and Ecormon Fertilizer

BACKGROUND: Sustainable agriculture is a great solution to reduce chemical pollutants to overcome environmental pollution. OBJECTIVES: Considering the importance of the savory and the consequences of fertilizers application, current study was carried out to determine the optimum concentration of seaweed extract and Ecormon fertilizer -as an organic matter and growth promoting stimulus- on some biochemical characteristics of white savory. METHODS: The present study was conducted as a factorial experiment in a randomized complete blocks design including three concentrations of seaweed extract (0, 1.5, and 3/1000) and three concentrations of Ecormon fertilizer (0, 0.5 and 1/1000) in three replications to study the biochemical properties of white savory. RESULT: According to the results, the highest chlorophyll a, b, total chlorophyll and carotenoid levels were observed in the treatment of Ecormon1 (2.65, 2.31, 4.95 and 2.88 mg.g-1 respectively), whereas Seaweed 1.5 had the lowest pigments amounts. The highest amount of phenolic compounds (804.00 mg.g-1) was obtained from seaweed 3 plus Ecormon 1, while the lowest amounts were belonging to seaweed 1.5 plus Ecormon1 and seaweed 3 plus Ecormon 0.5 (247.40 and 248.30 mg.g-1), respectively. The highest amounts of antioxidant activity were observed in treatments of seaweed 3 plus Ecormon1 and Ecormon 0.5 (46.25 and 45.26 %, respectively) and the lowest value (25.87 %) was observed in control treatment. CONCLUSION: In general, application of Ecormon and seaweed extract showed a positive effect on photosynthetic pigments, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of white savory. So, it can be recommended to farmers as efficient bio-elicitors that improve the biochemical properties of the plant through induction of the immune system.