The effect of planting date and plant density on morphological traits and essential oil yield of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.)

ABSTRACT: In order to study the effect of sowing date and plant density on morphological traits, fruit yield use efficiency (WUE) of coriander, an experiment was conducted in research field of Islamic Azad University, Birjand branch, Iran in 2010 as a split-plot experiment based on a randomized complete block design with nine treatments and three replications. The main plot was sowing date at three levels of March 30, April 14 and April 29. The sub-plot was plant density at three levels of 20, 40 and 60 plants m-2.The results showed that with the delay in sowing from March 30 to April 29, plant height, first fruit distance from ground and branch number per main stem, fruit and essential oil yield significantly decreased 21.8, 60.8, 18.8, 76.5 and 67.7%, respectively. Also, means comparison indicated that the increase in density from 20 to 60 plants/m2 led to the increase in plant height, first fruit distance from ground and fruit and essential oil yield by 18.4, 39.8, 87.6 and 166.7%, respectively but branch number per main stem decreased 18.4%. Also, sowing date and plant density interaction significantly affected plant height, fruit yield and essential oil percentage and yield. In total, it is recommended to use sowing date of March 30 with the density of 60 plants/m2 for the cultivation of coriander in Birjand because of having the highest fruit and essential oil yield.