Yield and Quality Traits of Black Cumin (Nigella sativa L.) Genotypes in Response to the Different Sowing Dates

Black cumin has been used in many countries for the treatment of diseases such as cancer and diabetes, and for thousands of years as a spice, flavoring in products such as bread, and as a food preservative in pickles. Too much delay in the sowing of black cumin has a negative effect on plant growth. In order to determine the most suitable sowing dates for different black cumin genotypes, an experiment was conducted in the open-field conditions of the Eastern Mediterranean region of Türkiye at Çukurova University, for two years, in 2020 and 2021, in three different sowing dates (October 15th, November 01st, and November 15th) with three different black cumin genotypes (Çameli cultivar (G1), Adana population (G2) and Iraq population (G3)). The findings of this research demonstrated significant differences in the agronomic characteristics and overall quality of black cumin. The main components were p-cymene (51.45%-66.33%), trans-4-Methoxythujane (8.40%-11.90%), thymoquinone (0.11%-19.26%), γ-Terpinene (1.28%-9.09%), and limonene (2.93%-4.50%). The main fatty acids were determined as linoleic acid (53.97%-57.56%), oleic acid (20.98-26.40), and palmitic acid (13.73%-15.02%). Consequently, the low number of flowers and the high temperatures observed in May, along with the early spring frosts, negatively affected the fertilization of the flowers. The seed yield was adversely affected because some of the seeds could not mature.