YIELDING CAPACITY OF SALAD CELERY DEPENDING ON THE AREA OF NUTRITION AND DENSITY OF PLANTS IN THE RIGHT-BANK FOREST-STEPPE OF UKRAINE

Abstract

It is impossible to receive high yielding capacity and quality of celery products without choosing an optimal scheme of plants location in a certain natural-and-climatic region. Thus, some authors suppose that the scheme of plant location affects on the formation of yield but it is observed its sudden decrease under crops thickening or significant thinning. Schemes of plant location applied in accordance with the recommendations ensure simultaneous development and good growing of salad celery. This reduces the number of gathering and helps to get high yielding capacity.

At present, the issue on determining the optimal nutrition area of salad celery remains a little studied in terms of the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine and is an important and urgent task for growers-practitioners.

Researches on study the schemes of location and density of salad celery (Apium graveolens L.) were carried on a research field of Educational-and-Research Department of Uman NUH in 2015-2016. We studied such schemes of plant locations as 45 ´ 10 cm, 45 ´ 15, 45 ´ 20, (20 + 50) ´ 10, (20 + 50) ´ 15, (20 + 50) ´ 20 cm with plants density of 220, 150, 110, 280, 200, 150 thousand pc/ha respectively. Anita, a variety of salad celery included to the State Register of plant varieties suitable for cultivation in Ukraine in 1999, was chosen as the object of research. Biometric measurements, phenological observations and record of yield were carried out by generally accepted methods of Institute of Vegetable Growing and Melon Growing of National Academy of Agricultural Sciences of Ukraine.

Factors of influence to plant growth and development and yielding capacity of salad celery were considered in this study. Optimal areas of nutrition and schemes of location with intensified plant growth and development and increased yielding capacity were defined.

Assessment of dynamics of growth of petiole height and thickness in the third ten-day period of June, July, August and September indicates that a greater increase in indexes was observed in August. Thus, petiole height of salad celery in the third ten-day period of August by band method of planting and a scheme of plant location of (20 + 50) ´ 10 cm and a wide-row scheme of 45 ´ 20cm reached to 39.2 cm and 29.8 cm respectively. Petiole height had lower indexes in September because a part of the best petioles with leaves was previously gathered and increasing in vegetative mass decreased in this period because of high temperatures during the day and lower temperatures at night.

It was shown that a high growth of index was observed in August by a wide-row method of seedlings planting and schemes of plant location of 45 ´ 20 cm and a band scheme of (20 + 50) ´ 10 cm in the article in 2015 in dynamics of growth of petiole height during vegetation period.

It was proved that optimal ways of seedlings planting and schemes of plant location for salad celery is a band scheme of (20 + 50) ´ 10 cm and by a wide-row scheme of 45 ´ 20 cm when high indexes were received.

It was proved that an important component of the quality of food body of salad celery is petiole thickness which varied depending on the method of plants growing.

It was shown that dynamics in the growth of petiole thickness which was observed in June, July, August and September had a significant intensity of increase - within 0.8-3.6 mm and the largest increase was observed in August. Thus, petiole thickness of celery plants in the third ten-day period of August by a wide-row method of plant location of 45 ´ 20 cm and a band scheme of (20 + 50) ´ 10 cm reached to 13.6 mm and 14.8 mm respectively. In September, petiole thickness as well as its height showed fewer indexes under above-mentioned reasons.

Dynamics in the growth of petiole thickness on the example of 2015 during a vegetation period showed that a high growth of index was seen in August by a wide-row method of plant location of 45 ´ 20 cm and a band scheme of (20 + 50) ´ 10 cm.

It was proved that optimal methods of planting and schemes of plant location of salad celery is band scheme of (20 + 50) ´ 10 cm and a wide-row scheme of 45 ´ 20 cm where much higher indexes of petiole thickness were received.

During the study it was also found the schemes that showed the lowest indexes of dynamics of growth of petiole height and thickness was a wide-row scheme of 45 ´ 15 cm and band scheme of (20 + 50) ´ 20 cm where indexes were slightly lower than the control. Thus, petiole height under these schemes was 22.2-29.2 cm which was 7.6-10 cm less than in the best indexes. As for petiole thickness, in average, indexes ranged from 9.2 mm to 12.6 mm that 1.0-5.6 mm lower than schemes with the best figures.

It was proved in the research that the highest growth of petiole height and thickness occurred in the third ten-day period of August. That is, plant productivity was the greatest just in that period.  

It was proved that plant density influenced the number of petioles on one plant of salad celery. Changing in plant density led to reduction in amount of petioles on one plant of celery due to a decrease in the area of nutrition. Studies showed that less number of petioles in the phase of technical maturity was observed in the plants located by the scheme of (20 + 50) × 10 cm and (20 + 50) × 15 cm - 17.0 and 16.7 pcs/plants that was less than control by 2.0 - 2.3 pcs/plants.

The article indicated that the number of petioles increased by reducing the level of plant density. Thus, density was greater in the plants located by wide-row method of sowing and a location scheme of 45 × 10 cm and 45 × 20 cm. In this case, a significant rise in the number of petioles on one plant by 0.7 and 2.0 pcs/plants was observed. Much amount of petioles was registered in the plants grown in 2016 by wide-row method and the scheme of 45 × 20 cm that was 23.2 pcs/plants and considerably exceeded control at 4.2 pcs/plants (Least essential difference (LED)₀₅ = 1.9 pcs/plants).

It is known that yielding capacity of salad celery largely depends on the number of plants per unit area and biometric indexes. However, it is not always a determining factor. Thus, received experimental data indicate that relatively high plant density of 200 thousand pcs/ha by a scheme of (20 + 50) × 15 cm did not provide high yielding capacity which reached a level of 23.5 t/ha and was lower than control by 1.7 t/ha. Thinning of plants by density of 110 thousand pcs/ha by a scheme of 45 × 20 cm caused reduction in yields to 17.8 t/ha which was considerably lower than control by 7.4 t/ha.

Done records showed that it is possible to get high yield using a band method for planting seedlings of celery by a scheme of (20 + 50) ´ 10 cm and a corresponding plant density of 280 thousand pcs/ha that was 41.4 t/ha.

It was proved that various factors including climatic conditions, strength of plant growth, size of a crown, scheme of location and plant density influenced on the yield of salad celery in the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine. And the highest yield was received by a band scheme of location of (20 + 50) ´ 10 cm and plant density of 280 thousand pcs/ha that was 41.4 t/ha.