INFLUNCE OF DIFFERENT IRRIGATION INTERVALS AND ANTI-TRANSPIRATION COMPOUNDS ON PRODUCTIVITY AND CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF ECHINACEA PURPUREA L. PLANT

Population expansion, climate change and ineffective water management techniques exacerbate the world's serious water shortage. In addition to jeopardizing global food security, this shortfall puts millions of farmers’s livelihoods in jeopardy. This study was carried out in the summer of 2022 and 2023 seasons at the Desert Research Center Experimental Station in Ras Sudr, South Sinai Governorate, Egypt. The current study aims to evaluate the effect of different irrigation intervals (2, 4 and 6 days) and anti-transpiration compound treatments (control, chitosan at 3 cm/L and green miracle at 3 cm/L) on the vegetative and flowering parameters and chemical composition of Echinacea purpurea L. plants. Results indicated that the irrigation interval every two days was superior to other irrigation intervals in all plant vegetative characteristics, flowering parameters and chemical composition. The plants grown with chitosan or green miracle improved all vegetative and flowering parameters and chemical composition. Green miracle treatments are superior to chitosan treatments because they have a greater effect on all studied plant characteristics. The highest growth rates, number of branches, biomass, NPK content, yield and caffeic acid derivatives of the Echinacea purpurea plant could be obtained by irrigation interval every two days combined with green miracle (3 cm/L). These results indicate that frequent irrigation combined with anti-transpiration compounds, especially green miracle can significantly enhance both the growth and medicinal quality of Echinacea purpurea.