ASSESSMENT THE YIELD AND QUALITY OF NIGELLA SATIVA UNDER DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

Objective: Nowadays, one of the growing industries is the herbal drug-based medicaments. This study sought to assess the quality and yield characterizes of black cumin under different locations through Egypt to introduce final analysis information for producers and exporters in Egypt. Methods: This experiment was carried out in seven sites in different locations through Egypt to assess the growth, yield and essential oil content of black cumin plants as following; four sites in El-Minya Governorate, two sites in Bahariya Oasis, and one site in Aswan Governorate. Results: Cultivation locations significantly affected on quality and growth characteristics. The highest seed and fixed oil yields (830 kilogram seeds and 206 kilogram fixed oil) were observed under clay loam soil (Old Land farm), while the lowest yields (500 kilogram seeds and 105 kilogram fixed oil) were observed under sandy soil (El-Nanaaih farm) at El-Menya. The highest content of active substance (Fixed oil %) was observed in clay loam sandy soil of Sekem farm and the lowest in Lena farm with sandy soil at Bahariya Oasis. Neither seed yield nor fixed oil content showed significant correlation with Na+, Cl-, and HCO3--of irrigation water. Although plants cultivated in Wadi El-Nokra at Aswan produced low fixed oil content (18.3%), main components, Linoleic and Oleic acid, were relatively high. Conclusion: The assessment of Nigella sativa under different locations gave evidence of the interactions between weather and soil properties and their impact on the quality and yield of oil of Nigella sativa plants.