Effect of superabsorbent on soil moisture, productivity and some physiological and biochemical characteristics of basil

Abstract

The study was carried out in 2019–2020, in the conditions of the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine. The results on the influence of absorbents in gel and powder forms on the productivity of basil plants (Ocimum basilicum L.) are presented. For research were used field, laboratory, statistical and calculation-analytical methods. Absorbent in the form of a gel was used while transplanting: dip the roots of the plant in the solution and then transplant in the field. Absorbent in the form of a powder - 5 kg ha-1, application of the absorbent into the soil layer 20–25 cm-1. Absorbents contributed to a slight decrease of sugar content (-0.86–2.68% in the cultivar of Badioryi, -1.48–2.35% in the cultivar of Rutan), significantly decrease ascorbic acid (-8.6–20.1%) and content of the essential oil (8.0–19.4%) and indirectly increased essential oil yield by increasing fresh weight yield in both varieties. The activity of APX, CAT, SOD, tended to decrease in all variants of the experiment, regardless of the form of the absorbent. APX (-12.8–35.1%), CAT (-10.9–22.0%), SOD (-11.9–17.0%).