Biological features of Salvia nemorosa L. under agrocoenosis conditions in the Non-Chernozem zone of Russia

The purpose of the study is to identify the biological characteristics of oakwood sage (Salvia nemorosa L.) in the Non-Chernozem zone of Russia. The study was conducted in the field conditions of the FSBRI All-Russian Research Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in 2020-2022. Plants of oakwood sage of the 2nd year of life were studied. The experiments were laid with two-month-old seedlings, which were planted according to the scheme 60 × 30 cm, at the rate of 25-30 plants per plot in three repetitions. The soil of the experimental plot of All-Russian Research Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants is soddy-podzolic heavy loamy. Phenological observations and biometric measurements were carried out according to the method adopted in medicinal plant growing. Salvia nemorosa L. in the conditions of the Moscow Region goes through the entire seasonal cycle of growth and development. In plants of the 2nd year of life, the beginning of the period of mass budding falls on the II-III decade of May, flowering begins in the II decade of June, and mass fruiting in the II decade of July. The duration of the period from the beginning of vegetation (regrowth) to mass fruiting is on average about 120-130 days, which fits well into the duration of the vegetation period of the Non-Chernozem zone (200-220 days). The highest phenotypic variability was noted in terms of the number of flowers per inflorescence, generative shoots, inflorescences and leaves per one generative shoot. Characteristics such as the length of the inflorescence and the thickness of the generative shoot vary moderately. The weakly variable traits include the width and length of the leaf, the weight of 1000 seeds, and the height of the plants. Under conditions of agrocenosis, oakwood sage plants show signs of xeromorphism (small stomata, increased pubescence, stomata immersed in a columnar mesophyll). Due to the fact that oakwood sage can be attributed to early flowering and early ripening plants, the abnormally hot conditions of August 2022 did not affect the passage of the main phenological phases and the variability of morphological characters. At the same time, some micromorphological parameters of the leaf blade of oakwood sage plants varied over the years.