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DOI: 10.1055/s-0029-1234438
The influence of the nutritional space upon the raw material and volatile oil yields in Valeriana officinalis L., under the ecological conditions of Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Our research determined the optimum nutritional space for Valeriana officinalis L. (the Magurele 100 cultivar), as an ecological crop created through seedling transplants in the second decade of April, using the following densities: V1=200 thousand of plants/ha, V2=133 thousand of plants/ha, V3=100 thousand of plants/ha, V4=80 thousand of plants/ha, V5=67 thousand of plants/ha. Some of our results are presented below:
The number of harvested plants/m2 was lower than the number of the transplanted ones (differences of 4–8%); the decrease was minimal with lower densities.
The raw material yield (roots and rhizomes) in Valeriana is much influenced by the number of plants per surface unit. The planting variants V2 and V3 proved to be the optimal ones, with three-year mean yields of 1.7–1.8t/ha of dry roots and rhizomes.
The three-year mean yield of volatile oil/ha was of 10.8–15.5l/ha, with the highest values for V2 and V3. Considering the number of plants in V2 and V3, any increase or decrease of it causes a significant cut down in the raw material and volatile oil yields.
The economic calculations (groß profit, profitableness rate, production unitary cost) revealed superior values when the planting was done with densities between 100–133 thousand plants/ha (with 50cm spacing between rows and 15–20cm between plants in a row).