Effect of licorice root and cabbage leaf extracts as a natural fertilizer on growth and productivity of Cynara cardunculus L

Abstract

Background There is an ongoing need to find safe natural sources of plant nutrients. Licorice root and cabbage leaf extracts are being used as sources that can be used for growth and yield of crops to substitute inorganic fertilizers. Objective To study the effect of extracts of cabbage leaves (waste) and licorice roots on Cynara cardunculus L. Materials and methods This experiment was carried out during two seasons (2017/2018 and 2018/2019) at Aladlya Field, Sekem, Sharkia Governorate, Egypt, to study the influence of some plant extracts, that is cabbage leaves’ extract at 0, 1, 2, and 3 g/l as well as licorice root’s extract at 0, 5, 10, and 15 g/l, on growth, yield, and chemical constituents (NPK, total phenolic content, and phenolic compounds) of C. cardunculus L. plants. Results and conclusion Both licorice root and cabbage leaf extracts had positive effects compared with control. However, licorice root extract had more effect on C. cardunculus L. plants compared with cabbage leaves’ extract. The main phenolic compounds were apigeni-7-glucoside (50.9272–161.8283 μg/g), rutin (79.8306–152.3828 μg/g), chlorogenic (4.5107–25.7202 μg/g).