Influence of elicitors in enhancing the fixed oil content and yield of black cumin (Nigella Sativa L.)

Black cumin seeds contained substantial amount of fixed oil and it is used for different cases of medicines and food. The use of elicitors may be one of the best possible ways to achieve spectacular progress in increasing fixed oil content and yield in black cumin. Elicitors are known to trigger the synthesis of various phytochemical compounds in many horticulture crops including black cumin. An investigation was carried out with foliar spraying of different elicitors to know their role in altering the fixed oil content and yield in black cumin during Rabi seasons of 2018-19 and 2019-20. The results of the study inferred that, application of paclobutrazol at 50 ppm recorded the maximum fixed oil content of 38.74 %, followed by chitosan at 100 ppm (37.75 %) when the data was averaged over two years of experimentation. Whereas, the application of salicylic acid at 50 ppm resulted in maximum fixed oil yield of 471.07 kg per hectare because of higher seed yield, although the fixed oil content was comparatively low than plants treated with paclobutrazol at 50 ppm having highest fixed oil content.