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The growth and chemical composition of essential oils (EOs) depend on several factors in particular the supply of fertilization. The use of fertilization with different manure sources and doses in a sustainable production system are critical factors in integrated nutrient management and play an important role in increasing of quantity and quality of medicinal plant. Furthermore, organic manures play an important role in the growth of plants leading to organic and cleaner production. Hence, a field experiment was conducted to study the usage of different organic manures and chemical fertilizers on biomass production, accumulation of nutrients in the leaves, essential oil content, essential oil yield and chemical compositions of Thymus vulgaris. In addition to these objectives, providing an economical and low-cost alternative with the use of organic fertilizers. The treatments consisted of: three sources of organic manure (quail, cattle, and goat) at four doses, chemical fertilizer and the control (without fertilizer). Significant differences were observed between manure sources and doses in virtually all response variables. The results showed that the highest biomass and leaf nutrients of T. vulgaris was obtained in plants treated with quail and cattle manure. Higher production of reactive oxygen species was observed in plants fertilized with goat manure, which generally showed the lowest levels of leaf nutrients. The results showed that the highest essential oil yield of T. vulgaris was obtained in plants treated with cattle manure compared to the control treatment. Thymol was major chemical compound of thyme tended to increase with increasing doses of the three sources of organic manures. The present study indicated that the usage of the right dose and source organic manure are crucial to provide quantitative-qualitative gains in the cultivation of T. vulgaris. [Display omitted] • Quail manure requires lower doses for better growth of thyme plants. • Quail and cattle manure provided a higher dry weight gain than chemical fertilization. • Higher doses of cattle manure had the highest contents and yields of essential oils. • Thymol tended to increase with increasing doses of the three sources of manure. • Higher production of reactive oxygen species was observed with goat manure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green manure can be used as an alternative to animal manure and organic compounds and can also be part of the management practices for medicinal plant production systems. The objective of this study was to use a combination of sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) and cattle manure in the fertilization of Thymus vulgaris L. plants to design better production strategies. The effects on vegetative growth, nutrient accumulation, essential oil production and chemical composition, photosynthetic pigments, and antioxidant activity were investigated. On the basis of four rates of cattle manure (0, 3, 6, and 9 kg m−2), additional four rates of green manure (0, 3, 6, and 9 kg m−2 sunn hemp) were added to each rate of cattle manure plus a positive control treatment (chemical fertilizer), totaling 17 treatments. The combination of organic manures (green and cattle manure) as well as the chemical fertilizer positively affected the dry weight of thyme leaves, stems, and roots. The combination of the highest doses of cattle and sunn hemp manure (9 kg·m−2 and 9 kg·m−2, respectively) resulted in an accumulation of total dry weight 10 times greater than that of the treatment without fertilization, which was significantly higher than that of the control treatment (0 kg m−2 cattle manure and 0 kg m−2 sunn hemp). Only application of green manure (Crotalaria juncea) has positive affected in dry weight. Significant increases in total and a and b chlorophylls and carotenoids were observed in thyme plants with the use of organic fertilizers. The essential oil production and chemical composition were improved by organic fertilization. The highest percentage of thymol (65.42%) was obtained in the group with 9 kg m−2 cattle manure and 3 kg·m−2 green manure. The application of both cattle manure and green manure increased the antioxidant activity of thyme, and this activity was correlated with high levels of carotenoids. The combined use of green and cattle manures is an inexpensive way to increase the yield of thyme and its essential oil and thymol production, and it can reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and thus is ecologically sound for the cultivation of medicinal plants. [Display omitted] • Green manure improves the production and quality of thyme cultivation. • Essential oil and thymol are responsive to combined organic fertilization. • Organic fertilizer combination improves growth and antioxidant response. • Cattle manure in thyme fertilization results in better plant performance. • Nutrients in leaves was high under cultivation at the highest organic fertilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMFs) provided significant dry weight gain for plants. • Cattle manure source influenced the growth of Melissa officinalis. • AMFs and organic manure influenced essential oil content. • AMFs and in the presence of cattle manure contributed to the accumulation of citral. • AMFs led to the accumulation of total phenols. The use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMFs) during cultivation is a promising possibility to increase biomass and essential oil yield of medicinal plants. The objective of the present study is to observe the influence of AMFs and fertilization with organic manure (OM) on Melissa officinalis growth, phenols, flavonoids, and on the chemical composition of its essential oil. The treatments were: (+)AMF(-)OM (with fungi and without organic manure), (+)AMF(+)OM (with fungi and with organic manure), (-)AMF(+)OM (without fungi and with organic manure), and (-)AMF(-)OM (without fungi and without organic manure)-control. Leaf (LDW), stem (SDW), root (RDW), shoot (ShDW), and total dry weight (TDW), shoot/root ratio (S/R) and total leaf area (TLA) were calculated 90 days after spore density counting and root colonization. Infection rates recorded for treatments inoculated with AMFs ranged from 47.95 to 53.55 %. The treatment inoculated with this fungus, without organic fertilizer, presented longer plant length (19.0 cm) than the control (16.6 cm). Inoculation with AMFs was significant for dry weight gain in comparison to the control. Organic fertilization also affected plant's dry weight gain. The highest essential oil content means were observed in treatments with AMFs and manure (0.27 %); this outcome was statistically different from that without AMFs and manure (0.16 %). Based on the PCA analysis, inoculation with AMFs - without/with organic fertilizer - had positive influence on the content of citral (geranial + neral), phenols, and flavonoids in the current study. Accordingly, the use of AMFs and cattle manure has influenced dry weight production, content, and yield, as well as the chemical constituents of the essential oil. According to these findings, the combination of these practices can enhance production in the cultivation of this species, and allow greater dry weight, yield, and active ingredient content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Organic manure sources influenced the growth of Dysphania ambrosioides L. • Poultry manure increased growth gain compared with cattle manure. • Best growth was observed with quail or chicken manure. • Quail manure increased the ascaridole content in the leaves. • Chicken manure increased the ascaridole in the inflorescences. Dysphania ambrosioides L. is a medicinal species used worldwide, mainly as an anthelmintic. In Brazil, this species is listed on the National List of Medicinal Plants of Interest to the National Health System. Studies on management, cultivation, and nutrition are incipient for this species. The present study tested the effect of different doses (0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 kg m−2) of three organic manures (cattle, chicken, and quail manure) on plant biomass production and the content, yield, and chemical composition of the essential oil from D. ambrosioides L. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse for 60 days. The doses of cattle, chicken, and quail manure influenced the plants' dry weight production and the content, yield, and chemical composition of the D. ambrosioides L. essential oil. Fertilization with poultry manure (quail or chicken) increased the plant growth more than did the cattle manure. Higher dry weights were obtained after incorporating 6 to 9 kg m−2 of quail manure or 9 to 12 kg m−2 of chicken manure. Higher essential oil content was extracted from the inflorescences than the leaves. The highest contents of essential oil in the leaves were obtained when using 3 to 6 kg m−2 of cattle manure or 3 to 12 kg m−2 of chicken manure. The 12 kg m−2 dose of cattle manure increased the oil content extracted from the inflorescences. The highest oil yields were obtained using 12 kg m−2 of cattle manure, 6 to 12 kg m−2 of chicken manure or 9 kg m−2 of quail manure. Using quail manure increased the ascaridole content in the leaves, while using chicken manure increased the ascaridole content in the inflorescences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]