GROWTH OF TEA PLANT (Chamaemelum nobile L.) UNDER SUNLIGHT AND EAST-WEST ROW ORIENTATION: A BRIGHT FUTURE CROP FOR PAKISTAN

Global warming and natural hazards have shifted conventional cropping patterns to diversification. Keeping in mind this issue, we have tried to grow the chamomile tea plant (Chamaemelum nobile L.), which is one of the most important medicinal plant used to treat various ailments, under the environmental conditions of Tandojam, Pakistan. We have grown chamomile under three light conditions (normal sunlight, an LED of 903 µmol. m-2·s-1, and an LED of 602 µmol. m-2·s-1) and two row orientations (East-West and North-South facing) during Feb-May, 2019. Plants grown under sunlight and East-West row orientation resulted in maximum growth, as indicated by the following parameters: 4.5 days to germination, a germination index of 1.92, a plant spread 29.4 cm, branches plant-1 73.5, 23.5 flowers plant-1, 2.2 cm flower diameter, 0.07 g single flower weight, 1.87% essential oils, 17.7 cm root length and 2.74 g root fresh biomass. Interestingly, row orientation in LED-lit plants yielded significant differences (P<0.05). East-West oriented chamomile plants under an LED of 602 µmol. m-2·s-1 yielded overall best growth among artificially illuminated plants, based on most parameters except single flower weight, % essential oils and root length, for which an illumination of 903 µmol. m-2·s-1 in the same row orientation produced better results.