CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF BLACK CUMIN SEEDS DEPENDING ON THE SOWING DATE AND SEEDING RATE

Abstract

The scientific article considers the issue of optimizing the complex of agrotechnical measures for growing black cumin in the conditions of the Western Forest-Steppe. The chemical composition of black cumin seeds is given and the pharmacological properties of the use of black cumin active substances are highlighted. The purpose of our research was to establish the optimal sowing date and seeding rate of black cumin seeds to increase seed yield and improve its quality indicators, in particular its chemical composition. A two-factor experiment was set up. Factor A is the sowing date (2nd decade of April, 3rd decade of April, 1st decade of May), factor B is the seeding rate (10, 12 and 14 kg/ha), the control variant was taken as sowing in the 3rd decade of April with a seeding rate of 10 kg/ha. The studies have established that in favorable weather conditions in 2021, optimal indicators of the quality of black cumin seeds were formed, and in 2023, the lowest. The highest percentage of fat in black cumin seeds was characterized by the sowing period in the second decade of April, the indicators at seeding rates of 10 and 12 kg/ha were on average over the years of research, respectively: 36.6 and 36.5%. The optimal indicators of the content of essential oil were when sowing black cumin in the second decade of April with seeding rates of 10 and 12 kg/ha, the indicator was on average over the years of research 1.4%, which exceeds the control variant by 0.2%. It is proven that the sowing period and seeding rate affected the protein content in black cumin seeds, which was within 20.7–22.8%. It was optimal for sowing in the third decade of April and seeding rate of 14 kg/ha – 22.8%. The carbohydrate content was within 5.53–7.03%. There was a significant difference at different sowing dates and seeding rates, the processing method did not affect the indicator. The maximum carbohydrate content was for sowing in the first decade of May with a seeding rate of 14 kg/ha, the values were 6.93–7.03%.