ENERGY WILLOW (<i>SALIX L</i>.) PLANTATION PRODUCTIVITY UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF THE CENTRAL FOREST-STEPPE OF UKRAINE
Reducing the dependence of the economy on imported fossil fuels is a critical problem in Ukraine. Renewable energy sources, in particular, wood take a large part in solving this problem. The purpose of the research was to study the specifics of growth and productivity of energy plantations of two willow varieties, namely basket willow (Salix viminalis L.) [1] and almond willow (Salix triandra L.) on leached black soil in the Central Forest-Steppe of Ukraine and to find out the optimal frequency of biomass harvesting. Planting in late September provided 85% establishment of almond willow cuttings and 92% of basket willow, while conducted in late October, 87 and 80%, respectively. Given two-year harvest cycle, the total productivity of three-year plantations of almond and basket willow was almost identical (41.1 and 41.9 t/ha, respectively). Three-year harvest cycle ensured yield of 54.6 t/ha in basket willow, that was much higher than yield of almond willow (27.7 t/ha). This leads us to a preliminary conclusion that in the early years of growing basket willow under the conditions of studied region it is appropriate to use the three-year harvest cycle and while for almond willow two-year harvest cycle is feasible. In a production environment, taking into account the weather conditions, marketing and logistics, both two-year and three-year harvest cycle can be considered appropriate to produce feedstock of both energy willow species.