The Influence of Green Manures on Production and Quality of Flax Seeds

Abstract

To cope with the new conditions generated by climate change, a key objective of today's agriculture would be to promote the use of natural fertilization systems for both organic matter restoration, agro-ecosystem stability, biodiversity conservation, pollution limitation, sustainable use of natural resources, increasing productivity and the quality of agricultural products intended for human consumption. In this context, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of natural fertilization with green fertilizers on the productivity and quality of flax seeds, as an alternative to replacing or reducing the amounts of mineral fertilizers used. The study was conducted during 2017-2019 at the Sibiu Variety Testing Center, on 6 flax varieties for oil in 4 fertilization variants. The results obtained in the experiment showed a different behavior of the flax varieties analyzed, depending on the genotype and environmental conditions both in terms of quantitative and qualitative characteristics. The most productive genotype was the Cristina variety, with superior yield compared to control Lirina, for three experimental years and fertilization variants. The seed production was influenced by the type of fertilization, the non-fertilized variant registering a deficit of 300-400 kg/ha compared to mineral fertilized variants. The fertilization with green fertilizers determined the realization of similar productions to those obtained after applying mineral fertilization. Also in terms of the amount of oil/ha again the Cristina variety had an increase of over 5% compared to the control Lirina, in all fertilization variants. All six flax genotypes analyzed respond quite favorably to the application of green manures and can certainly be integrated into a system of sustainable agriculture, ecological, organic.