Comparative ecological testing of Achillea millefolium (L.) cultivars in Moscow Province

Background. The cultivars of Achillea millefolium L.: ‘Eney’ and ‘Millennium’ (Research Institute of Agriculture of Crimea), and ‘Vasyurinsky’ (North-Caucasian Branch of VILAR), were the objects of the ecological testing in 2018–2020 in Moscow Province. Methods. A nursery was established with planting material of vegetative origin. Phenological and morphometric parameters, indicators of raw matter productivity, and crop structure components were assessed in the phase of mass flowering. Results. For cv. ‘Vasyurinsky’, the start of growing and subsequent phenological phases occurred 14–25 days earlier than for ‘Eney’ and ‘Millennium’ whose growing season was 15–20 days longer. The plant height varied from 72 to 106 cm for cv. ‘Vasyurinsky’, 43 to 56 cm for ‘Eney’, and 38 to 42 cm for ‘Millenium’. The yield of fresh green biomass reached 8.8–10.3 t/ha for the Crimean cultivars, and 18.2 t/ha for ‘Vasyurinsky’. The latter exceeded cvs. ‘Eney’ and ‘Millenium’ in the yield of green biomass and air-dry matter (1.7–2.9 and 1.5–2.6 times, respectively). Essential oil content in ‘Eney’ was 4.74% of the absolute dry weight, being 1.6–3.5 times higher than in ‘Millenium’ (2.99%) and ‘Vasyurinsky’ (1.35%). Chamazulene content in the essential oil of the Crimean cultivars was 10–12 times higher, and the content of caryophyllene and germacrene D 2.5–3.1 times higher than in the essential oil of cv. ‘Vasyurinsky’. Conclusion. All the studied cultivars of A. millefolium can be recommended for commercial cultivation in Moscow Province.