Garlic chives (Allium tuberosum Rottler Ex Sprengel) as a promising vegetable crop

Abstract

Wild onions have always interested people. The possibility of their multi-purpose use greatly contributed to the extermination of some onion species; other species were successfully introduced into cultivation. Such species are currently successfully cultivated in household plots and on farms. The genus Allium L. (Amaryllidaceae) is a diverse genus which includes more than 920 species of onion crops, different in morphobiometric and economic characters. The garlic chives discussed in this paper is found in the wild and as a cultivated species. This is a perennial herbaceous ratoon crop. It is rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, minerals and dietary fibers. The chemical composition includes alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, coumarins, saponins and reducing sugar. For greater and more effective introduction of garlic chives into cultivation, the varieties adapted to the production conditions are needed. The research goal was to select promising forms of garlic chives based on economic characters under the conditions of the Moscow Region. The research was carried out from 2020 through 2022 in the All-Russian Research Institute of Vegetable Crop Production, a branch of the Federal Scientific Center of Vegetable Crop Production. The accessions were grown through transplant seedlings. The establishment of field experience, research and observations were carried out according to the methodological guidelines. The content of solids, monosaccharides, vitamin C, nitrates and carotene was determined according to generally accepted methods. At the beginning of the research, 5 accessions were obtained cloning and studied in the control nursery; 2 clone accessions No. 3 and No. 5 were selected. These accessions were transferred to the nursery for preliminary variety testing. In 2021 and 2022, the clone accessions No. 3 and No. 5 were studied regarding the indices most interesting to the consumer: yielding capacity and biochemical composition. It was found that under the conditions of the Moscow Region, A. tuberosum is a winter-hardy crop, is not damaged by spring and autumn frosts, and there was no damage from pests or diseases. In the nursery of preliminary variety testing, the clone No. 5 was superior in yield to clone No. 3 by 1.33-1.35 kg m² at LSD₀₅ = 1.27 kg m² due to the maximum number of monocarpic shoots on the plant and leaf length. Solids content in the leaves averaged 12.4%, ascorbic acid - 133.4 mg%, carotene - 31.7 mg per kg of wet weight, hydroxycinnamic acids - 176.7 × 10^-3% and flavonoids 294.2 × 10^-3% of dry weight. The plant should be divided every 3-4 years due to its rapid growth.