APPLICATION OF CYTOKININ PREPARATION «ZIRCON» IN THE CULTIVATION OF CALENDULA OFFICINALIS
Growth regulators, influencing the physiological and biochemical processes occurring in the plant, activate its development during the growing season, as well as increase resistance to stressful conditions that develop during growth. Therefore, they are actively used in the agro-industrial sector, including in medicinal plant growing. Currently, the use of environmentally friendly drugs is an urgent trend in crop production, so the purpose of the research is to substantiate the effectiveness of the use of cytokinin drug Zircon in the cultivation of calendula to obtaina stable yield of medicinal raw materials in the Penza region. The seeds of calendula officinalis were treated with Zircon, the plants in the phase of the rosette of leaves were nourished with it. Bookmark experiments and observations were carried out according to the guidelines. During the years of research (in 2018-2019) the climate was dry. For the entire growing season, the hydrothermal coefficient was 0.61 and 0.95, respectively. Pre-sowing seed treatment stimulated field germination, which increased by 7% on average over the years of research. Biological resistance of plants increased, which contributed to an increase in their safety to 55%. In the first year of research, 12 collections of medicinal raw materials were made within 43 days, in the second - 16 collections (from July 5 to September 6). When laying the generative organs of calendula, the most optimal conditions were formed for those plants that were twice treated with the growth regulator Zircon. With timely and careful collection of calendula officinalis in the Penza region, you can get an average of 1046 g / m2 of raw inflorescences or 1744 kg / ha of air-dry raw materials.