Nursery production in Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea Moench.)

Desislava Angelova, Anatoli Dzhurmanski

Abstract: During the period 2008-2013 in the field of experimental field of Institute for roses and aromatic plants Kazanlak on a meadow-cinnamon soil experiments were conducted to optimize the technology of production of echinacea seedlings. The herbicidal efficacy of pendimethalin (Stomp New 330 EC), amidosulfuron + iodosulfuron (Secator OD) and oxadiargyl (Raft 400 SC) were investigated. High biological effectiveness (88.9-95.8%) of the studied herbicides was reported in relation to the reported annual weeds. Low phytotoxicity in growth retardation and plant growth is only observed with oxadiargyl. The establishment of selective herbicides in echinacea greatly facilitates nursery production and creates a real opportunity for direct sowing, as echinacea in the early stages of its development has a very slow rate of development. In the standardization of the seedlings, the available seedlings were separated into four fractions according to the thickness of the root. Each fraction of ten plants in three replicates was planted in a single parcel. In the third year, yields of fresh roots were recorded, and plants were planted with seedlings with the largest fractions (over 10 mm) forming a root system of the order of 586 g/plants or 3340 g/m2, which exceeds the yield of the small fraction (5-7mm) by 74% and the average fraction by 20%. Undeveloped seedlings with a root cervixthickness of less than 5mm form 5.3 times lower crop roots in the third year and require considerably more care after planting, so seedlings should be scrapped or left to produce. The seed qualities of the Echinacea population breed in the Institute forrosesandaromaticplants were examined in laboratory conditions, with the seeds being placed at 100pcs. in petri dishes, in three replicates, at a controlled temperature of 20-220 °C in a thermostat. In the first year seed samples showed a good germination on average of 64%, with a high germination energy at 7 days 50% and a rapid germination rate at 14 days 60%. The storage time of the seed material is short - as the first two years germination is in the range of 50-78%, in the third year we have a reduction of 45-62%, while in the fourth year the majority of the seed samples showed very low sown qualities of 0 to 22% germination. When sowing seeds of echinacea,their germination must be determined to introduce semen norms and no seed material to be used after the third year.

Keywords: echinacea; herbicides; nursery production; sowing qualities

Date published: 2019-10-31