Author(s): Zeinab A Abd Elhafez, Abeer F Fathalla and Tamer F El-Moghazy

Abstract: Gamma irradiation is important agent used to improve the productivity and quality of many plants. The present study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of different doses of gamma rays (0, 5, 10, 15 kR) on vegetative growth, yield characters (number of capsules per plant, the weight of 100 seeds, as well as the seed yield per plant) and chemical composition oil of Nigella sativa L (fixed and essential oil) of Nigella sativa L. during the two successive seasons of 2023 and 2024. Results showed that low doses 10 kR of gamma irradiation significantly increased for both seasons (plant height, number of branches, fresh and dry weight per plant, number of capsules per plant, the weight of 100 seeds, as well as the seed yield per plant, nigella oil percentage, some fatty acids percentage (linoleic, oleic, palmitic and stearic) and essential oil main components (α-Pinene, Camphene, Dithymoquinone and Thymoquinone)). While 15 kR of gamma irradiation gave the highest content of total phenolic and total flavonoid. The same trend of results occurred for DPPH% values. The lowest values for all studied traits were given by the un-irradiation plants treatment (control).

DOI: 10.22271/flora.2025.v13.i1a.971