Improvement of Culture of Black caraway (Nigella sativa L.) in Kermanshah (Iran)

Black caraway (Nigella sativa) from the Ranunculaceae family, is one of the most useful medicinal plants which grows wild in some regions of Iran, such as Kermanshah. In India and Middle East countries, the seeds of Black caraway, are used as spice and seasoning, and also used as an additive in bread. N. sativa contains linoleic, oleic, and palmetic acid [1]. Because of substances such as thymoquinone and di-thymoquinone in their seeds [2], it is also used as an anticancer, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, and antialergic agent. Regarding the importance of this medicinal plant, a research study was conducted in determining to phenological stages, and to find the best density culture, in the Agricultural College of Kermanshah (Iran) at Razi University, in 2000. In this study, four row spacing i.e. 40, 50, 60 and 70cm were studied by using randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. Various characteristics including height of plant, the number of follicles per plant, the number of seeds in each follicle, weight of one thousand seeds, biological yield, grain yield, harvest index, percentage of oil, and essential oil were used. According to experiment results, the comparison of mean grain yield, by using Duncan test, revealed that when the seeds were planted in 40 centimeters spaced rows, the grain yield was highest, and equal to 660kg per hectare. Having compared the means with this treatment and other treatments showed a significant difference between the grain yields. The oil and essence of produced seeds in this study were 28% and 0.148% respectively.

References: 1. Atta, M.B. (2003), Food Chemistry 83: 63–68. 2. Ghosheh, A.O., Houdi, A.A., Crooks, A.P. (1999), J. Pharm. Biomed. Anal. 19: 757–762.