Effects of summer savory ( Satureja hortensis L.) and sweet corn ( Zea mays L. saccharata) intercropping on crop production and essential oil profiles of summer savory

• Published in: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) Vol. 11; p. e14753
• Main Authors: Naderi, Ruhollah, Bijani, Farzad, Karami, Akbar, Chauhan, Bhagirath S, Egan, Todd P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States PeerJ. Ltd 30.01.2023; PeerJ Inc
• Subjects: Agricultural Science; Biochemistry; Corn; Crop Production; Crop yields; Cropping systems; Harvesting; Industrial crops; Land equivalent ratio; Medicinal plants; Oils, Volatile - pharmacology; Plant Science; Satureja - chemistry; Sustainable agriculture; Vegetables; Zea mays; Iran; Medicinal plants; Land equivalent ratio; Industrial crops; Sustainable agriculture
• ISSN: 2167-8359; 2167-8359
• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14753

A 2-year field experiment evaluated the effects of sweet corn-summer savory intercropping on crop productivity and essential oil (EO) composition of summer savory. Five cropping patterns of Corn 100%:Savory 0%, C75:S25, C50:S50, C25:S75, and C0:S100 were tested. The highest corn yield (2,440 kg ha ) was obtained in a corn monoculture, but was not significantly different from C75:S25 or C50:S50. However, in both years the highest savory yield was obtained in S100 (793.3 g m and 816.6 g m , respectively). Savory yields decreased as the proportion of corn increased. The land equivalent ratios in C25:S75, C50:S50, and C75:S25 were 1.54 ± 0.07, 1.56 ± 0.03, and 1.35 ± 0.1, respectively. Monocropped savory had the highest EO value followed by C25:S75 and C50:C50. However, no significant differences were found among these three treatments. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis showed that the major components were carvacrol (35.88%-42.96%), γ-terpinene (18.45%-20.03%), ρ-cymene (11.77%-12.24%), and α-terpinene (2.75%-3.96%). The highest amount of carvacrol was recorded in C25:S75 (42.96%). This study suggests that intercropping of corn and savory represents an effective sustainable strategy, especially for smallholders, as a way to increase their overall land productivity and to improve the quality of savory's EO.