CROP CAPACITY OF SALAD CELERY DEPENDING THE APPLICATION OF DIFFERENT FORMS OF HYDROGEL IN THE CONDITIONS OF THE RIGHT-BANK FOREST-STEPPE OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The article presents the results of research on determining the influence of hydrogel on quality indicators and celery productivity. It is proved that in the conditions of growing deficit of high-quality fresh water, rising energy prices, deterioration of the ecological state of irrigated land, the development and implementation of resource and energy-saving, environmentally sound technologies are becoming topical. According to climatic conditions, management of scarce water resources for growing crops in general and vegetables, in particular, is becoming a more and more serious problem. Precipitation is the main source of water supplies. Nevertheless, the amount of precipitation varies greatly over recent years. This led to fluctuations in yield levels and unstable harvest quality. Limited water resources have led to the need to replenish the scarcity of moisture in the soil. Scientists have made attempts to find solutions aimed at reducing the use of water. One of the ways to achieve this goal in vegetable growing is to add polymeric absorbents to the soil, the so-called hydrogel. Hydrogels increase the throughput of soil moisture and have a positive effect on the properties of water and air. A characteristic feature of absorbents is the accumulation of significant amounts of water, which gradually make them available to plants. For the first time, it has been proved that the use of hydrogel during the cultivation of vegetable crops in general and of salad celery in particular has several advantages, such as: reducing the maturing period by 7-9 days, increasing yields, improving the appearance of the product, increasing seedlings' survival, saving on irrigation and the amount of fertilizer. When growing plants there is a better development, resistance to stress and disease, almost 100% liveliness, a significant increase in resistance to cold. A few years later, the hydrogel is completely decomposed and completely harmless. The studies used the generally accepted plant cultivation technology for the Right-Bank Forest-steppe of Ukraine, as well as the generally accepted methods of phenological observations, biometric measurements and crop accounting, which showed that the highest yield was observed in all three varieties, in the application of the experiment, the use of hydrogel in the form of a gel: in the Monarh cultivar yield was 36,8 t/ha, which is 4,1 t/ha more than in the control, the Anita variety – 43,5 t/ha (+ 5,8 t/ha to control), the Pascal variety – 39,8 t/ha (+ 4,6 t/ha to control).