ANALYSIS OF THE DYNAMICS OF MORPHOMETRIC TRAITS AND YIELD COMPONENTS IN NIGELLA L. SPECIES OVER THE PERIOD 2022-2024

Abstract This study investigates the influence of climatic conditions during the 2022-2024 period on the growth and yield components of Nigella sativa and Nigella damascena. The following morphometric and productivity parameters were analyzed: plant height, number of primary shoots, number of infructescences per plant, infructescence length and width, number and weight of seeds per infructescence, total number of seeds per plant, 1000-seed weight, and overall yield. The results demonstrated a strong negative correlation between shoot height and both precipitation and minimum/ average air temperatures. Similarly, seed number per infructescence and total yield were negatively correlated with most climatic factors. In contrast, the 1000-seed weight showed a strong positive correlation with warmer conditions and reduced occurrence of sub-zero temperatures (R² = +0.99).