Impact of Nitrogen Fertilization on Rosemary: Assessment of Physiological Traits, Vegetation Indices, and Environmental Resource Use Efficiency
Rosemary (<i>Salvia rosmarinus</i> L.) is a versatile and resilient plant with significant culinary, medicinal, and ecological value. This study evaluates the impact of four nitrogen (N) fertilization levels (0, 50, 100, and 150 kg N ha⁻¹) on the morphological, physiological, and agronom...
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Nitrogen |
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| author | Christos A. Dordas |
| author_facet | Christos A. Dordas |
| author_sort | Christos A. Dordas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Rosemary (<i>Salvia rosmarinus</i> L.) is a versatile and resilient plant with significant culinary, medicinal, and ecological value. This study evaluates the impact of four nitrogen (N) fertilization levels (0, 50, 100, and 150 kg N ha⁻¹) on the morphological, physiological, and agronomic traits, as well as vegetative indices, of rosemary over two growing seasons (2022 and 2023). The results indicate that plant height and leaf area index (LAI) increased with N application. Additionally, physiological characteristics such as chlorophyll content, photosynthetic efficiency, and assimilation rates (A) increased by an average of 32%, 17%, and 55%, respectively, compared to the control. Biomass production also improved with N fertilization, with yields rising by 32% in 2022 and 58% in 2023. Furthermore, both essential oil concentration and essential oil yield were enhanced by N application. Radiation use efficiency (RUE), water use efficiency (WUE), agronomic efficiency (AE), and partial factor productivity (PFP) also increased, indicating more efficient utilization of environmental resources. Moreover, higher N rates consistently enhanced vegetation indices, reflecting improved plant health, greenness, biomass, photosynthetic activity, and energy utilization. Therefore, this study highlights that the optimal N range appears to balance biomass yield and essential oil yield while maximizing the efficiency of environmental resource use. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a9eca81fc8a94c8cb2bcea213e9e94f9 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2504-3129 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Nitrogen |
| spelling | doaj-art-a9eca81fc8a94c8cb2bcea213e9e94f92025-08-20T03:16:35ZengMDPI AGNitrogen2504-31292025-05-01623310.3390/nitrogen6020033Impact of Nitrogen Fertilization on Rosemary: Assessment of Physiological Traits, Vegetation Indices, and Environmental Resource Use EfficiencyChristos A. Dordas0Laboratory of Agronomy, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceRosemary (<i>Salvia rosmarinus</i> L.) is a versatile and resilient plant with significant culinary, medicinal, and ecological value. This study evaluates the impact of four nitrogen (N) fertilization levels (0, 50, 100, and 150 kg N ha⁻¹) on the morphological, physiological, and agronomic traits, as well as vegetative indices, of rosemary over two growing seasons (2022 and 2023). The results indicate that plant height and leaf area index (LAI) increased with N application. Additionally, physiological characteristics such as chlorophyll content, photosynthetic efficiency, and assimilation rates (A) increased by an average of 32%, 17%, and 55%, respectively, compared to the control. Biomass production also improved with N fertilization, with yields rising by 32% in 2022 and 58% in 2023. Furthermore, both essential oil concentration and essential oil yield were enhanced by N application. Radiation use efficiency (RUE), water use efficiency (WUE), agronomic efficiency (AE), and partial factor productivity (PFP) also increased, indicating more efficient utilization of environmental resources. Moreover, higher N rates consistently enhanced vegetation indices, reflecting improved plant health, greenness, biomass, photosynthetic activity, and energy utilization. Therefore, this study highlights that the optimal N range appears to balance biomass yield and essential oil yield while maximizing the efficiency of environmental resource use.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-3129/6/2/33spectral indicesN use efficiencyproductivityessential oil contentdry matter yield |
| spellingShingle | Christos A. Dordas Impact of Nitrogen Fertilization on Rosemary: Assessment of Physiological Traits, Vegetation Indices, and Environmental Resource Use Efficiency Nitrogen spectral indices N use efficiency productivity essential oil content dry matter yield |
| title | Impact of Nitrogen Fertilization on Rosemary: Assessment of Physiological Traits, Vegetation Indices, and Environmental Resource Use Efficiency |
| title_full | Impact of Nitrogen Fertilization on Rosemary: Assessment of Physiological Traits, Vegetation Indices, and Environmental Resource Use Efficiency |
| title_fullStr | Impact of Nitrogen Fertilization on Rosemary: Assessment of Physiological Traits, Vegetation Indices, and Environmental Resource Use Efficiency |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of Nitrogen Fertilization on Rosemary: Assessment of Physiological Traits, Vegetation Indices, and Environmental Resource Use Efficiency |
| title_short | Impact of Nitrogen Fertilization on Rosemary: Assessment of Physiological Traits, Vegetation Indices, and Environmental Resource Use Efficiency |
| title_sort | impact of nitrogen fertilization on rosemary assessment of physiological traits vegetation indices and environmental resource use efficiency |
| topic | spectral indices N use efficiency productivity essential oil content dry matter yield |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-3129/6/2/33 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT christosadordas impactofnitrogenfertilizationonrosemaryassessmentofphysiologicaltraitsvegetationindicesandenvironmentalresourceuseefficiency |