Impact of climatic variability on the duration of phenological phases, productivity, and essential oil quality of Dracocephalum moldavica L. in agroclimatic zones of Polissya and Forest-Steppe in Ukraine
Abstract
L.A. Kotyuk*, I.V. Ivashchenko, O.А. Коrablova and D.B. Rakhmetov
The impact of climatic variability on the phenological phases of Dracocephalum moldavica change was studied under introduction in two agroclimatic zones of Ukraine - Poland and Forest-Steppe. Field, introductory, acclimatization, biomorphological, biochemical, and statistical methods were used in the research. It was found that the general duration of a life cycle of D. moldavica under conditions of Polissya ranged from 137 to 143 days and in Forest-Steppe from 122 to 153 days. The plants of D. moldavica under the conditions of Polissya during the vital cycle required 1138.2° of effective temperatures and in Forest-Steppe 1384.6 ° (average in 2011-2013). Insufficient precipitation and soil moisture supply impacted germination rates and plant development in the period of germination and vegetative growth. On the contrary, high summer temperatures and the lack of precipitation resulted in the reduction period of flowering and fruiting. The productivity of the aboveground mass was 2.5 ± 0.3 kg/m2 in Polissya and 2.3 ± 0.2 kg/m2 in Forest-Steppe. We recorded that the essential oil content was 0.715 ± 0.133% in Polissya and 0.652 ± 0.142% in Forest-Steppe. The content of the main components in the essential oil of D. moldavica was higher in the Polissya zone than in Forest-Steppe. Therefore, the climatic variability and modern natural conditions of the Polissya and Forest-Steppe zones corresponded fully to the biological needs of D. moldavica for moisture and a specific thermal regime during the vegetative period. The introduction of D. moldavica plants into industry culture in these regions is promising.