Influence of culture media and fulvic acid on Thymus serpyllum L. plant under hydroponic conditions

Abstract

Thymus serpyllum (creeping thyme) is a newly introduced medicinal and aromatic plant in\r\nEgypt. It was grown hydroponically for this study. The goal was to\r\nassess the effect of three sandponic media (sand, silica, and sand with silica)\r\nand foliar spraying with fulvic acid (without and with) on plant growth,\r\nherbage yield, and essential oil yield. The experiment was designed as a split\r\nplot. The main plots involved fulvic acid spraying, while the subplots included\r\nvarious sandponic media. The results showed that cultivation in a sandponic\r\nsystem filled with an equal amount of silica and sand, combined with spraying\r\nplants with fulvic acid, produced the significantly highest fresh herb weight\r\nper square meter and the appropriate dry weight and essential oil yield.\r\nControl and other treatments, on the other hand, detected lower values. The\r\ndominant compound in essential oil was thymol. Depending on the treatments, it\r\nranged from 41.80% to 53.45%.