Celery is one of the major nutraceutical vegetable species due to the high dietary and medicinal properties of all of its plant parts. Yield, growth and produce quality of six celery genotypes belonging to leafy (Elixir and Samurai), stalk (Atlant and Primus) or root (Egor and Dobrynya) types, as well as the distribution of biomass, sugars, mineral elements and antioxidants among the different plant parts, were assessed. Within the celery root type, cultivar Dobrynya resulted in higher yield than Egor, whereas the genotype did not significantly affect the marketable plant part production of leafy and stalk types.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUtilization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) for enhancing growth and development as well as production of essential oil in aromatic plants has been increasingly drawing research interest. In order to assess the AMF effects on different aromatic species, an open-field experiment was carried out using (tarragon), (lavender) and (hyssop). AMF stimulated the growth of tarragon and lavender plants, whereas hyssop showed a slight developmental slowing; nonetheless, a significant increase in essential oil content in the three species was seen.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiofortification of garlic and onion plants with selenium and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation are considered beneficial for producing functional food with anticarcinogenic properties. The effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation, sodium selenate foliar application, and the combination AMF + selenium (Se), compared to an untreated control, were assessed regarding the bulb yield, biochemical characteristics, and mineral composition. AMF + Se application resulted in the highest yield, monosaccharides, and Se content in both garlic and onion bulbs; and an increase of ascorbic acid and flavonoids in onion, and flavonoids in garlic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlant biofortification with selenium in interaction with the application of an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)-based formulate,with the goal of enhancing Se bioavailability, is beneficial for the development of the environmentally friendly production of functional food with a high content of this microelement. Research was carried out in order to assess the effects of an AMF-based formulate and a non-inoculated control in factorial combination with two selenium treatments with an organic (selenocystine) or inorganic form (sodium selenate) and a non-treated control on the yield, quality, antioxidant properties, and elemental composition of shallot ( L. group).
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