To the biology of Allium caspium (Pall.) Bieb. (Amaryllidaceae) in nature and in cultural conditions

The purpose of research is to study the features of morphometric parameters and seed productivity of A. caspium in culture and natural habitats. The study of A. caspium under culture conditions was carried out on the basis of the South Ural Botanical Garden-Institute in Ufa (in the northern forest-steppe zone of the Republic of Bashkortostan) from 2009 to the present. The material was brought from natural populations of the flora of Kazakhstan in the form of bulbs and seeds in 2008. In nature, the species was studied in 2019 within the Aktolagay chalk massif, located in the southern part of the Aktobe Region of the Republic of Kazakhstan. According to the seasonal development, the Caspian onion is a short vegetative spring-early summer flowering, with a period of winter dormancy. It blooms in early June, seeds ripen in late July. Vegetation lasts 2-2.5 months. The study showed that individuals under culture conditions are 1.5-2 times superior to plants from natural habitats both in morphometric parameters and in seed productivity. According to the degree of variability, all plant parameters are within the normal range. In culture, real seed productivity is 5.7 times higher, fruit flowering is 29.6 % higher, seed productivity coefficient is 2.1 times higher. Plants bloom annually, but seed set is very low. The seeds are large. Renewal under conditions of introduction occurs by sowing seeds. According to the assessment of success and prospects, A. caspium was classified as an unpromising species (13 points on the GBS RAS scale) due to its short life in culture. Plants growing in natural habitats are affected by extreme arid climatic conditions. The introduction of a rare type of onion into the culture will reduce the burden on natural populations and is one of the most effective methods of its conservation.