The Roles of Chicken Manure and Biochar Applications in Enhancing the Morphological, Yield, Crude Protein Content and Antioxidant Activities of Basil

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of chicken manure (10 and 20 t ha-1) and biochar (40 and 80 t ha-1) applications on the morphological, yield, protein content, antioxidant activity, total phenolic and total flavonoid contents of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.). Pot experiments under climate chamber conditions at 24 ◦C (a day length of 16 h) and 16 ◦C (8 h in a night) showed that A8 and A4 applications significantly increased plant height (PH) values compared to A9 application. Branch number (BN) values had no statistically significant differences in the first and second harvest, but these values showed statistically differences in the harvests mean of the BN. For fresh weight (FW) values, while the A3 application had the 80.00% increase than A9 application, A8 application showed higher FW value compared to A9 application with the increasing of 0.51% and 0.24% in the first and total harvest, respectively. Dry weight (DW) values significantly increased by 2%, 7% and 9% with application of A3 (40 t ha-1 biochar×10 t ha-1 chicken manure) compared to the control (A9) application. The highest crude protein, DPPH, FRAP and total phenolic and flavonoid contents were found from applications of A7, A2, A9, A6, and A4, respectively. The principal coordinate analysis (PCA) revealed over 52% total variations depending on the first two PCs. Cluster heat map analysis showed that most of the applications took place in the main group B. The results suggest that chicken manure and biochar applications influenced the morphology, yield, protein content, and antioxidant activities of basil. Therefore, these applications can play a crucial role in sustainable basil cultivation, serving as a safe source of mineral matter, particularly for organic farming.