ISSN 2329-9797
International Journal of Agricultural Economics and Extension ISSN 2329-9797 Vol. 10 (8), pp. 001-007, August, 2022. © International Scholars Journals
Review
Medicinal and aromatic plants farming under drought conditions
Hossein Aliabadi Farahani1*, Sayed Alireza Valadabadi1, Jahanfar Daneshian2 Amir Hossein Shiranirad2 and Mohammad Ali Khalvati3
1Islamic Azad University of Shahriar (Shahr-e-Qods) branch, Iran.
2Seed and Plant Improvement Institute (SPII), P. O. Box 4119, Mardabad Rd, Karaj 31585, Iran.
3Department of Plant-Microbe Interactions, German Research Centre for Environment and Health, Munich (HelmholtzZentrum München), Ingolstaedter 1, Neuherberg Germany.
Accepted 24 July, 2022
Abstract
Drought stress is especially important in countries where crop agriculture is essentially rain-fed. Drought stress causes an increase in solute concentration in the environment, leading to an osmotic flow of water out of plant cells. This in turn causes the solute concentration inside plant cells to increase, thus lowering water potential and disrupting membranes along with essential processes like photosynthesis. These drought-stressed plants consequently exhibit poor growth and yield. In worst case scenarios, the plants completely die. Certain plants have devised mechanisms to survive under low water conditions. These mechanisms have been classified as tolerance, avoidance or escape. Also, medicinal and aromatic plants have been an integral part of our daily life for thousands of years. There are cave paintings in which medicinal and aromatic herbs are depicted. To this day, modern research continues to discover health benefits of plants while illustrating the importance of preserving our ecosystem. This review may give applicable advice to commercial farmers and medicinal and aromatic plants researches for management and proper use of water in medicinal and aromatic plants farming under drought conditions and increases quantity and quality characteristics of medicinal and aromatic plants in arid and semi-arid areas.
Key words: Drought conditions, tillage system, essential oil content, water use efficiency, nitrate reductase activity, proline accumulation, medicinal and aromatic plants farming.