STUDY OF ADAPTIVE CAPABILITIES OF ARUGULA (ERUCA SATIVA MILL.) AND WILD ROCKET (DIPLOTAXIS TENUIFOLIA (L.) DC.) IN THE CONDITIONS OF THE SOUTHERN STEPPE OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The article is devoted to topic of adaptability of varieties and improvement of the technology of cultivation of arugula and wild rocket in the Southern Steppe of Ukraine. The research was supposed to investigate the existing assortment of arugula and wild rocket, as well as to find out its adaptability to the conditions of the Southern Steppe Ukraine, yield, and quality of products. Conventional research methods were used. The highest attention was paid to biometric indexes of plant growth and yield. Studies have proven that the control variety of arugula Znakhar was characterized by a larger number of leaves – 18 pcs./plant. In addition, the data and indexes have been stable over the years of research. Varieties Barvinkovyi and Sparkle showed lower results and the number of leaves was 16–17 pcs./plant. Among the varieties of wild rocket, the Sinope and Themisto varieties were characterized by the highest leaf index – 18 pcs./plant. In turn, the lowest rate was provided by the Prudenzia variety – 15 pcs./plant. On average, over the years of research, at the time of the formation of the rosette, the highest studied index was in the Barvinkovyi variety – 18,4 cm2. At the same time, the control variety Znakhar showed the lowest figure – 17,5 cm2. The varieties Leticia and Themisto provided the highest leaf surface both at the beginning of rosette growth – 15,3 and 14,9 cm2, respectively, and in the phase of technical maturity of plants – 85,5 and 87,6 cm2, respectively. However, while at the beginning of rosette growth the studied index was higher in the Leticia variety, in the phase of technical maturity it was higher in the Themisto variety. The lowest leaf surface, on average over the years of research, was provided by the studied variety Sinope both at the beginning of rosette growth – 11,8 cm2, and at the phase of technical maturity – 66,5 cm2. The Sparkle variety had a high yield of 18,1 t/ha, which exceeded the control by 2,9 t/ha. In turn, the Barvinkovyi variety showed the lowest result, which was lower than the control by 2,4 t/ha. Among the studied assortment of wild rocket, the Prudenzia and Themisto varieties stood out, which prevailed over the control by 1,0 and 1,3 t/ha, respectively. In turn, Leticia and Sinope varieties lagged the control variety Tricia by 0,6 and 0,3 t/ha, respectively. It has been proved that the optimal varieties for the conditions of the South of Ukraine are the Sparkle variety among the varieties of arugula, and the varieties Themisto and Prudenzia in the wild rocket.