Growth and development of Carthamus tinctorius L. in the conditions of Transnistria

Carthamus tinctorius L. is a plant, that is used for oil production and dyeing, and also used for medical purposes and cosmetology. A distinctive biological feature of this plant is its high drought resistance. In the process of global warming the increase in air temperature in Transnistria over the past 70 years amounted to 1,2…1,3 °C, the increase in soil temperature over the past 20 years in the observed soil layer 0,2…3,2 m amounted 0,8…1,2 °C. In this regard the intercalation of drought resistant crops, such as Carthamus tinctorius L., into agricultural production is relevant. The dura- tion of the growing season of a Carthamus tinctorius L. collection specimen of unknown origin in the Republican Botanical Garden (in the town of Tiraspol) when sown in middle of April for the period from the year of 2008 to the year of 2017 ranged from 103 to 113 days. In the conditions of Transnistria in the year of 2020 for the first time the influence of sowing time of Carthamus tinctorius L. on the development of a complex of features was studied. Sowing of Carthamus tinctorius was carried out five times: the 20th and the 27th of March, the 3rd and the 14th of April, the 2nd of May. The study of the influence of the sowing time showed decreasing values of the complex of features with later sowing time of Carthamus tinctorius L. The mostly significant decreased with a later sowing time were such features as the number of branches of the first and the second level, the number of seeds in the inflorescence, the number of seeds per plant. The best sowing date in the conditions of an acute drought in the year of 2020 was the first sowing time on the 20th of March. The value of the features in this sowing period was: plants’ height — 55 cm, the number of branches of the first level — 8,7 pieces, the number of branches of the second level — 4,6 pieces, the number of inflorescences per plant — 14,1 pieces, the number of seeds in the inflorescence — 7,0 pieces, the number of seeds per plant — 64,8 pieces.