Effects of different cutting methods and times of cutting on growth performance and gum resin production of ferula assa-foetida

Ferula assa-foetida L. is an important industrial and medicinal plant of Iran which is mainly distributed in arid and semi-arid areas of Khorasan province in north east of the country. Gum of this plant is widely used in pharmacological industry. This plant is endangered because of more harvesting and unsustainable harvesting methods. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different cutting methods (conventional, cut of crown part, concave and surface) and times of cutting (5, 10 and 13 times) on gum yield of this species in its wild habitat in Mazar region in Bajistan. The treatments were studied under a factorial experiment which was arranged in a completely randomized design with three replications. Results showed significant differences among cutting methods and times of harvesting. Yield of gum was affected by times of harvesting and the highest yield was obtained in 10 cutting times. The highest and lowest gum yields were obtained in concave method with 10 cutting times (25.24 g/plant) and superficial method with 5 cutting times (2.02 g/plant), respectively. Results showed that conventional cutting method destroys crown buds, which causes death of the plant. The highest gum yields and the best plant regeneration rates were obtained by using of concave method with 10 cutting times