The influence of the plantation establishment method on the yield of marshmallow (Althaea officinalis L.) flowers

Abstract

The field experiment with one- and two-year-old marshmallow plants was carried out in Zamość on brown soil of loess origin in 2002-2004. There were four methods of plantation establishment: 1) direct sowing in the field (control object); 2) direct sowing in the field with cover of polypropylene sheet; 3) by seedlings from a plastic house; 4) by seedlings produced in multi-cell propagation trays. It was found that, in the case of one-year-old plants, all the methods of plantation establishment significantly increased the yield and the number of marshmallow flowers, as compared to the control object, but the best results were obtained when the plants were propagated from seedlings produced in multi-cell trays. Taking into account the two-year-old plants, no significant impact of the plantation establishment method on flower yield was found. On average, total yields of flowers varied from 17.2 dt×ha^-1 in the first year of vegetation to 27.8 dt×ha^-1 in the case of the two-year-old plants.