Crop productivity, aroma profile and antioxidant activity in Pelargoniumgraveolens L’Hér. under integrated supply of various organic and chemical fertilizers

• Study deals with the effect of different fertilizer regimes on herbage yield, oil yield, oil quality and antioxidant properties of P. graveolens.
• Chlorophyll and nutrient content were significantly affected by organic and chemical fertilizer regimes.
• Poultry manure along with chemical fertilizer increased the oil yield and quality.
• Safe, environment friendly disposal of distillation and poultry waste is a real possibility.

Pelargonium graveolens L’Hér. is an important commercial crop and source of industrially acclaimed geranium oil. Field experiments were conducted to study the response of integrated nutrient management on crop productivity, plant biochemical parameters, essential oil yield, oil quality, nutrient content and antioxidant property in P. graveolens during the years 2012–2013 and 2013–2014 in Lucknow, India. Different organic manures and chemical fertilizers in various combinations were applied to the crop. Plant height increased by 44%, leaf area by 40%, and essential oil yield increased to 106% in poultry manure (PM) + chemical fertilizer (CF) treatment. The N content was highest in CF followed by PM + CF, which were about 37% and 34% greater than the control, respectively. Antioxidant activity increased from 1.53% (control) to 5.94% in PM + CF treatment. Percentage of major aroma compounds increased in the combined application of organic manure and chemical fertilizer. Geraniol (26.08%–28.98%) was the major constituent of essential oil, followed by citronellol (22.86%–28.82%), 10-epi-γ-eudesmol (5.15%–5.31%), isomenthone (5.44%–6.83%) and linalool (3.01%–4.21%).Study concludes that the combined application of fifty percent each of CF (75:30:30 N:P:K kg ha−1) and PM (2.5 kg ha−1) gave significantly higher herb and oil yield with improved aroma profile, enhanced antioxidant properties and improvement in soil characteristics.