Essential oils of the air-dried aerial parts of five populations of Thymus migricus Klokov & Desj.-Shost. collected from northwest Iran were obtained by hydrodistillation with yield of 1.1 – 3.3% (w/w). The essential oils were analyzed by a combination of GC-FID and GC-MS techniques, to check for chemical variability. According to populations, twenty-nine components, representing 97.3 – 99.3% of the total components, were identified. Oxygenated monoterpenes were the main group of constituents in all samples (65.2 – 78.5%). Thymol (46.6 – 72.5%), γ-terpinene (6.2 – 16.7%), p-cymene (4.0 – 6.5%), n-hexadecanol (0.4 – 6.5%), geraniol (0.5 – 4.7%), limonene (0.0 – 3.5%) and carvacrol (0.5 – 3.4%) represented the major compounds. Two chemotypes were identified: thymol and thymol/linalool. In addition, canonical correlation analysis between some essential oil characters and some environmental factors revealed a significant relationship between oil components and environmental factors. The influence of environmental factors over p-cymene, γ-terpinene, linalool and thymol was evident. Essential oil yield was fairly strongly related to the concentrations of Ca²⁺ and K⁺, percentage of organic matter, altitude, temperature, and soil texture.

Thymus migricus Klokov & Desj.-Shost. was collected at full flowering stage from Northwest of Iran. The essential oil of the air-dried aerial parts was obtained by hydrodistillation with a yield of 1.8 % (w/w). The essential oil was analyzed by combination of GC and GC-MS. Twenty compounds were identified, representing about 99.2 % of the total detected constituents. The main constituents of the essential oil were thymol (55.6 %), γ-terpinene (16.7 %), geraniol (4.6 %), p-cymene (4.0 %), limonene (2.6 %) E-Caryophyllene (1.9 %) and α-Pinene (1.8 %).

The present study was carried out to increase loquat seed germination with treatments consisting of two soaking temperatures (24 ± 2°C and 38 ± 2°C), chemical agents [control, 0.5% potassium nitrate (KNO₃) and 250 mgL⁻¹ gibberellic acid (GA₃) each for 20 h], and different moist chilling (MC) periods (1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks under 4–5°C). Compared with 24 ± 2°C, soaking at 38 ± 2°C reduced germination%, mean daily germination (MDG), and mean germination time (MGT), plumule and radicle lengths. Germination percentage, days to 50% emergence, fresh weight and lateral root numbers significantly reduced as MC period increased. KNO₃ and GA₃ had no significant effect on germination percentage, MDG, MGT and lateral root numbers. KNO₃ reduced days to 50% emergence and radicle length, but increased fresh weight compared with control and GA₃. Finally, our results suggest the soaking at 24 ± 2°C followed by 0.5% KNO₃ each for 20 h plus 1 week of MC or soaking at 24 ± 2°C followed by 250 mgL⁻¹ GA₃ each for 20 h plus 2 week of MC.