Volga Region Farmland (Oct 2020)
CHANGES IN SEED PRODUCTIVITY OF ECHINACEA PURPUREA DEPENDING ON THE SOWING TERMS AND THE METHOD OF WEED CONTROL
Abstract
To produce high-quality pharmaceutical plant raw materials, the plantation cultivation of medici-nal plants is necessary. However, this is finite because of a limited number of seeds. One of the main indicators for evaluating the success of introducing a crop into production is seed productivity. Therefore, the aim of the research is to develop the cultivation technology elements of Echinacea purpurea for seeds that ensure the optimal realization of its productivity potential in the conditions of the forest-steppe of the Middle Volga Region. Experimental work was carried out on the meadow chernozemic soil of the experimental field of the FSBEI of Higher Education "Penza State Agrarian University" in 2014...2018. During the winter and early spring sowing of Echinacea purpurea, various ways of protecting it from the weed component were studied. As a research result, it was found that the effect of the aftereffect of sowing dates and methods of weed control also remained in the sec-ond year of plant life. On average for three years, in the first year of planting Echinacea 28...38 gen-erative shoots develop per square meter, each of which forms 366...484 achenes with a mass of 1.39...1.68 g and the plumpness rate of 74...84 %. The most optimal conditions for seed setting are formed both in early winter sowing and early spring one with manual removal of weeds, three-time row-to-row processing and application of the herbicide Lazurit SP before Echinacea seedlings' ap-pearance, followed by weeding with Miura in the phase 2-4 leaves of the weed. The yield of seeds, sown in autumn, counted 642.3 kg/ha, 598.7 and 644 kg/ha, respectively. In spring sowing, it was 16...19 % lower. Thus, the studied techniques of cultivation of Echinacea purpurea allow forming a high yield of high-quality seeds.
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