Techniques of cultivation of Silphium perfoliatum L. for green mass and seeds in the conditions of Belarus

Abstract

The article discusses the influence of sowing and planting methods, as well as nitrogen fertilizers on the productivity of green and dry mass and seed productivity of silphium perfoliatum. It has been established that planting silphium with two-month-old seedlings according to the schemes 70  30 and 70  50 has an advantage over seed sowing. Green mass yield on average for 2016–2019 in these options was 87.6–90.7 t/ha, which is higher than seed sowing by 19.5–23.7%, while seed productivity was 0.34–0.39 t/ha, which is higher than seed sowing by 3.0–18.2%. Nitrogen fertilizers had a positive effect on the productivity of silphium perfoliatum, and the application rate of nitrogen equivalent to N90 and N120 ensured a green mass yield of 94.3–106.1 t/ha, which is 51.6–70.6% higher compared to the control and higher compared to the nitrogen application rate equivalent to N60 by 21.4–40.4%. Seed productivity in these variants was 0.43–0.44 t/ha, which exceeds the control indicators by 26.5–29.4%, and the indicators for the variant with N60 application by 14.7–17.6%.