Studying the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides L.) under different compost and zeolite treatments

Vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides L.) is a multi-purpose plant which plays important role in soil conservation due to its deep roots. Since the soil in most regions of Iran is poor in organic matter, it is necessary to apply proper soil amendments to optimize plant growth. A completely randomized factorial experiment with three replications was done in the research greenhouse of Malayer University to evaluate the combined effect of zeolite and compost on quantitative (i.e. shoot dry weight and root dry weight) and qualitative (i.e. chlorophyll a and b, carotenoids, relative water content, and proline) characteristics of Vetiver grass. Compost was added at four levels of zero (control), 20, 40, and 60 percent by volume and zeolite was added at five levels of zero (control), 10, 20, 30, and 40 g to the soil (five kg) of the pots containing scions. The results demonstrated that the applied treatments had a significant effect on all the measured traits. The concentrations of chlorophyll a and b and carotenoids significantly increased (p≤ 0.05) under the effect of different levels of compost and zeolite. Although the leaf relative water content (RWC) increased in some of the treatments (Z2C3, Z2C4, Z4C1, and Z5C3), in general, it decreased significantly compared to the control treatment. In addition, the shoot and root dry weights increased significantly under the effect of all fertilizer levels. In our study applying fertilizers had a positive effect on the quantitative and qualitative performance of Vetiver grass.