The rhythms of growth and development of the genus Zinnia L. in different methods of cultivation at the foothill zone of the Crimea

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to study the rhythms of growth and development of representatives of the genus Zinnia L. and to assess the prospects of introduction in open and protected ground cultivation. The objects of the study were 3 species, 14 sorts, introduced to the conditions of the foothill zone of the Crimea. The methodology of studying the phenology of plants and plant communities and the methodology of state testing of agricultural crops are used. It has been established that the species and sorts of the genus Zinnia L. pass through all phases of development: vegetation, budding, flowering and seed ripening. The duration of flowering plants of the genus Zinnia L. was identical in the 2 methods of cultivation and was 4 months (120 days). The vegetative period of the species and sorts of the genus Zinnia L., obtained through seedlings, was 7 months (187-218 days), which is two months longer than in plants grown by sowing in open ground (164-168 days). The analysis of collected data the phenological range of the species and sorts of the genus Zinnia L. shows the reduction of the period between the phases and early phase of the "mass flowering" for the 2 species (Z. reruviana (L.) L. and Z. violacea Cav.) and 4 sorts ('Solar Bunnies' , 'Orang King', 'Polar Bear', 'Liliput'). The effect of sowing in the protected ground is only available for the species Z. haageana Regel. The remaining sorts of the genus Zinnia L. can be sown in the open ground in the last part of May for the floral decoration of the foothill zone of the Crimea.