EFFECT OF INTER-ROW DISTANCE ON SOME QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE INDICATORS OF WHITE MUSTARD (SINAPIS ALBA L.) SEEDS

Abstract

In 2021, a field experiment was conducted with white mustard (Sinapis alba L.) the seed of which is an interesting raw material in agriculture, industry and food production. Stands of tested plants were established without tillage into a freezing catch crop from the Fabaceae family within regenerative agriculture. The stand of clovers was used as a tool of bio-drilling to work the soil and as a source of nitrogen required by the subsequent crop, and the frozen biomass was applied as mulch onto the soil surface. The aim of the experiment was to find out whether the different inter-row distance (RD1 � 0.136 m and RD2 � 0.375 m) affects some yield characteristics: seed yield, 1000-seed weight, contents of oil, glucosinolate, oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic and erucic acids in seeds. The crop of interest was sown on 29 April 2021 and the seed was harvested on 9 August 2021. Average of values from the two experimental variants with the different inter-row distance was 2.27 t/ha (seed yield), 6.91 g (1000-seed weight) and 26.9 % (oil content); in these parameters, no statistically significant difference was found similarly as in the contents of glucosinolate, oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic and erucic acids. Based on experimental results with the different inter-row distance (RD1 � 0.136 m and RD2 � 0.375 m) it was found out that inter-row distance had no demonstrable influence on the studied parameters in this experiment. Therefore, it can be stated that the gained knowledge paves the way for modern technologies in the cultivation of white mustard seed when principles of regenerative agriculture are complied with.