TECHNOLOGICAL METHODS FOR CORIANDER CULTIVATION ON VERTICAL RACKS

Abstract

The research is aimed at specifying the possibility of cultivation and gain of marketable coriander products with minimum energy consumption in photoculture conditions. Growth of vegetative part, root system, the quality and photosynthetic activity of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) were evaluated with application of LED lighting in different spectral ratios. Coriander varieties were grown hydroponically on vertical racks using flooding technology. Illumination lamps based on blue, green and red LEDs were used as lighting, with a total PAR intensity of 150 mmol/m²s. Far red 6-12% was added to the main spectrum of illumination. The results showed that application of LED light (mainly red and green, and to a lesser extent blue light) significantly influenced a wide range of parameters of plant growth and development, including photosynthetic activity of pigments, the biomass of shoots and roots. The photosynthetic ability of the leaves was significantly higher under the radiation in the second variant with the addition of far red spectrum of 6% compared to other illumination variants. The root system parameters in different variants of the experiment differed slightly. The most appropriate ratio of LED emission spectra are B(23) :G(53):R(74) mmol/m²s with a far red spectrum share of 12% (option 1) for 'Santo' variety and B(21):G(59) :R(70) mmol/m²s with 6% far red (option 2) for 'Caribe' variety. The conditions of light culture ensure formation of economically useful biomass of coriander plants in a short period of 22-25 days, on average, in the amount of 1.81 kg/m². Studies showed that in case of growing coriander varieties on vertical hydroponics racks, it is possible to obtain high-quality green marketable products in the early stages at threshold values of photosynthetic irradiance.