Cumin Plant Growth Performance in Response to Exogenous Application of Licorice and Moringa Extracts as Eco-friendly Bio stimulators

There is a great demand for eco-friendly biostimulators that improve plant performance sustainably. Among the naturally existing plant growth accelerators are licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) root aqueous extract (LRE) and moringa(Moringa oleifera ML.) leaf ethanol extract (MLE).To explore the effects of foliage sprays of LRE and MLE on cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) plant performance, an experiment was held inside a greenhouse located at the farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Damanhour University, El-Beheira, during the two winter seasons of 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. Before the experiment, the soil and both extracts were chemically analyzed. In a factorial treatment design using a three-replicate RCBD, treatments were assigned randomly, each containing ten plants. The LRE was used at 0, 10, 20, and 30 g L-1 and the MLE at concentrations of 0, 50, and 100 ml L-1 as treatments. Vegetative traits and chemical and essential oil components were measured and recorded. Overall, the results revealed that both extracts significantly affected all examined traits in both seasons. Spraying cumin plants with a mixture of LRE at 30 g L-1 and MLE at 100 ml L-1 gave the highest plant height; 41.51 and 40.91 cm, the highest number of branches; 9.30 and 9.20 branch plant-1 , the highest shoot fresh weight; 20.54 and 19.55 g plant-1, the highest shoot dry weight; 12.78 and 12.42 g plant-1, the highest number of umbels per plant; 48.77 and 48.35 umbel plant-1, and the highest fruit yield; 7.24 and 6.82 g plant-1 in both seasons successively. Moreover, the highest percentage of essential oil; 5.89 and 6.10 %, the highest essential oil yield; 0.54 and 0.53 ml plant-1, as well as the highest chlorophyll a content; 1.48 and 1.51 mg g -1, the highest chlorophyll b content; 0.68 and 0.90 mg g -1, the highest carotenoids content; 0.44 and 0.66 mg g -1, the highest percentage of total carbohydrates; 23.7 and 23.66 %, the highest percentage of nitrogen; 2.18 and 2.28 %, the highest percentage of phosphorus; 0.32 and 0.30 %, and the highest percentage of potassium; 1.79 and 1.78 % were recorded when applying a mixture of LRE at 30 g L-1 and MLE at 100 ml L-1 in the two studied seasons successively. The current study showed that adding LRE at 30 g L-1 and MLE at 100 ml L-1 increases the growth and productivity of cumin. However, further investigation is required to study the effect of higher levels of LRE and MLE on the growth and productivity of cumin.