EVALUATION OF SERRATULA CORONATA BREEDING MATERIAL FOR YIELD AND RAW MATERIALS QUALITY IN THE MOSCOW REGION

The objective of the study is to evaluate Serratula coronata breeding material for yield and raw material quality in the Moscow Region. Objectives: to study the morphological traits influencing the dynamics of yield formation; to establish average and maximum yield indicators for raw materials; to evaluate the quality of raw materials based on phytoecdysteroid content. The evaluation of the breeding material was conducted from 2020 to 2024 at the Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (VILAR) in the Moscow Region. The objects of the study were VILAR breeding material (the Belgorod population improved by selection) and the Ust-Sysolskaya control variety, bred at the Institute of Biology, UB of the RAS (Komi Republic). Plants of the improved population differed from the varietal plants in having improved indicators of morphological traits determining productivity (16 and 23 % more shoots and inflorescences, respectively). In terms of homogeneity (evenness of indicators), the breeding material is close to the varietal material, as indicated by comparable coefficients of variation for similar characteristics (the average coefficients of variation for the number of generative shoots were 39%, the number of inflorescences – 46, and the fresh weight of the shoot – 57 %). The productive period of Serratula coronata occurs between the 3rd and 5th years of life. According to the results of evaluation in 2020–2024, compared with the control variety Ust-Sysolskaya, the VILAR breeding material demonstrated a raw material yield that was 34 % higher (4.48 t/ha), the proportion of its valuable part (leaves and inflorescences) was 27 % higher, and the ecdysterone content in the raw material was 9 % higher (0.87 %). The yield of the target product (ecdysterone) was up to 1.5 times higher (20–29 kg/ha) compared to the raw material of the Ust-Sysolskaya variety (14–21 kg/ha). No significant differences in the adaptability of plants to the conditions of the Moscow Region in terms of phenological parameters were observed; however, the onset of flowering (the phenological timing of raw material harvesting) for the control variety Ust-Sysolskaya occurs 7–10 days later.