Spicy vegetables hold one of the most important positions in the food balance since they contain essential substances for the human body and are characterized by high nutritional value. At the present stage, particular interest among consumers is generated by basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), which belongs to the group of spicy-aromatic vegetable plants [1, 2].
The cultivation of basil seedlings is a labor-intensive process within the overall chain of technological processes for growing spicy-aromatic vegetables. Therefore, addressing this issue is possible by utilizing new elements of energy-saving technology for growing basil, based on the use of tray seedlings. With each passing year, the use of trays for cultivating vegetable seedlings is increasingly widespread, as they offer technological advantages and greater economic benefits compared to traditional methods [3, 4, 5, 6].
The majority of basil seedlings are grown using the non-tray method, with only a small portion being cultivated in pots, peat cubes, or trays. The use of trays allows for a limited and isolated root system for each plant, influencing the growth and development of seedlings, increasing yield, obtaining uniform plants with 100% survival rate, reducing the consumption of expensive seeds, substrate, and greenhouse space, and improving production efficiency. When using the seedling method, a harvest of true basil can be obtained 10-25 days earlier compared to non-seedling cultivation methods [7, 8, 9].
The aim of the study was to investigate the planting time of basil seedlings in open ground and its effect on the yield of the domestic variety Rutan, known for its early maturity, high productivity, and product quality.
The research was conducted from 2019 to 2020 in the field of the Vegetable Science Department at Uman National University of Horticulture, following standard methodologies. The total area of the experimental plot was 10 m², with a recorded area of 5 m². The experiment was repeated four times. Basil seedlings were planted in the third decade of April, and the first and second decades of May.
The assessment of the influence of planting time on the growth and development of basil plants can be carried out based on the analysis of the duration of key phenological phases. The difference in the timing of phenological phases observed in basil plants is more pronounced in terms of sowing time, with early-sown plants showing individual emergence 5-6 days earlier compared to plants grown from later sowings. Plants grown from late sowings exhibited individual emergence 6-8 days later. In the case of seedlings grown using traditional methods, mass emergence was observed 1-3 days later compared to plants grown in cassettes. Biometric measurements revealed a significant difference in the plants grown from different sowing and transplanting times, although they had an equal number of true leaf pairs (4 pairs). Plants sown in the second decade of March did not develop the fourth pair of leaves at the time of transplanting. The quality assessment of seedlings indicated that the height of plants decreased as the sowing time was delayed. Accordingly, the seedlings obtained from later sowings and transplantings were smaller compared to plants from other experimental variants, which can be attributed to poorer growing conditions. Plants grown from later sowings and transplantings had the smallest leaf area. It has been demonstrated that leaf area increased with delayed sowing time. The largest leaf area was observed in plants grown in trays with a size of 6x6 cm, sown in the first decade of April, measuring 115.2 cm2, which was 28.8 cm2 larger than the control. A strong positive correlation (r = 0.9) was found between leaf number and leaf area based on the conducted correlation analysis. The results of the variance analysis indicate that leaf area was significantly influenced by the factor of sowing time, accounting for 74% of the variation. Plant weight is an important indicator of growth processes and significantly affects plant productivity. The conducted research indicates that plants grown in trays with a size of 6x6 cm and sown in the first decade of April, with seedlings transplanted in the third decade of April, had the highest above-ground and root system weight.
The above-ground biomass of basil plants transplanted in the third decade of April reached a level of 229 g, significantly exceeding the biomass values for later sowing times, which were 160.4 g and 116.7 g. The total vegetative biomass includes the weight of stems, inflorescences, and leaves. Leaves constitute the largest portion, ranging from 58.2 g for later sowing times to 127.8 g for earlier sowing times, accounting for 49.9% to 55.8%, respectively. The analysis of the obtained data demonstrates a strong positive correlation (r = 0.98) between above-ground biomass and root system biomass. The majority of the total yield of basil consists of leaves, leaf rosettes, stem tops, and young branches. The marketable yield of green biomass for the Rutan variety of basil, depending on the timing of transplanting seedlings into open ground, averaged between 17.3 and 24.4 tons per hectare.
The highest yield of above-ground biomass was obtained from plants sown in the earliest timeframe, during the third decade of April, with a yield of 24.4 tons per hectare, significantly surpassing the control by 7.1 tons per hectare. Lower yields were observed in plants sown in the first and second decades of May, ranging from 17.3 to 17.4 tons per hectare, which remained relatively consistent due to high temperatures.
The focus of interest was the yield of leaves of basil since they are directly used in culinary preparations. The assessment of leaf yield from the Rutan variety of basil, depending on the transplanting timeframe into open soil, revealed a lower leaf mass yield. Over the course of two years, leaf yields ranged from 8.9 to 14.1 tons per hectare. The highest leaf yield was observed when the seedlings were transplanted in the third decade of April, while the lowest yield was observed for those transplanted in the first decade of May, reaching 8.9 tons per hectare, which was 3.6 tons per hectare lower than the control. Transplanting the seedlings in the third decade of April resulted in rapid green growth and a relative yield increase compared to the control, with 7.1 tons per hectare of green biomass and 1.6 tons per hectare of leaves.
It has been found that the timing of planting seedlings significantly affects the yield of green biomass and, specifically, the yield of leaves in basil. The optimal sowing period for growing basil seedlings is the first decade of April and using the method of tray seedlings. This allows for fully developed seedlings to be transplanted into the open ground in the third decade of April or the second decade of May, resulting in higher biometric indicators, plant mass, and a higher yield of marketable green biomass.
List of used sources:
1. Korablyova, O.A. Useful Plants in Ukraine: from Introduction to Utilization: monograph. Kyiv: Phytosociocenter, 2012. pp. 9-10.
2. Zharinov, V.I., Ostapenko, A.I. Cultivation of Medicinal, Essential Oil, and Spice Plants: Textbook. Kyiv: Higher School, 1994. 234 p.
3. Vegetable Growing / Likhatsky, V.I., Burgart, Y.Y., Vasanovich, V.D. et al., edited by V.I. Likhatsky. Kyiv: Urozhay, 1996. In 2 parts. Part 2. pp. 220-223.
4. Modern Methods of Breeding Vegetable and Garden Crops. Edited by T.K. Horova, K.I. Yakovenko. Kharkiv: Osnova, 2001. 642 p.
5. Saguy IS, Singh RP, Johnson T, Fryer PJ, Sastry SK. Challenges facing food engineering. J Food Eng. 2013; 119:332-342
6. Lebedev S.I. Plant Physiology / S.I. Lebedev - 3rd edition, revised and enlarged - Moscow: Agropromizdat, 1988 - 544 p.
7. Baranov A.V. Basil - a useful spice crop. Vestnik Ovoshchevoda. 2012. No. 3. P. 50-51.
8. Volodarska A.T., Skliarevskyi M.O. Green vegetable crops. Kyiv: Urozhay, 1992. P. 118-122.
9. Bolotskikh A.S. Vegetables of Ukraine. Kharkiv: "Orbita", 2001. P. 54.
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