Water productivity of Melissa officinalis L. irrigated with magnetically treated water

Abstract

The water consumption, leaf dry mass (LDM), essential oil yield (Y), essential oil production (Prod), and water productivity as a function of the LDM and the essential oil production of lemon balm were evaluated. The treatments included 25%, 75%, 100%, and 125% crop evapotranspiration (ETc) replacement by irrigation with untreated water (CW) and magnetically treated water (MTW). Through analysis of variance (F-test), means tests (Scott-Knott), and regression analysis, it was observed significant differences among the water replacement level but not between the water treatment. The contribution of magnetically treated water was not clear from the results obtained. The water productivities as a function of leaf dry mass and essential oil production shows the 75% of ETc quite promising for achieving satisfactory leaf production and efficient oil production relative to the amount of water applied.