Efficiency of application of different forms of superabsorbents in crops of basil

The main factors limiting the productivity of vegetables are the arid climate and uneven rainfall, but the use of absorbents can solve this problem. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of absorbents on the productivity of basil. This study used field and laboratory measurements, statistical, computational and analytical methods. The study revealed that absorbent in a form of gel positively influenced the increase of the leaf area index (+7.26% in Badioryi cultivar, +8.20% in the Rutan cultivar – leaf area, +34.55% in the Badioryi cultivar, 37.43% in the Rutan cultivar – leaf area index). Absorbents contributed to a slight decrease of sugar content (-0.86-2.68% in the Badioryi cultivar, -1.48–2.35% in the Rutan cultivar) and content (-8.8-13.2%) and yield of the essential oil (-19.6-39.5) in both cultivars. The activity of APX, CAT, SOD, tended to decrease in all variants, regardless of the form of the absorbent: APX (-12.8-35.1%), CAT (-10.9-22.0%), SOD (-11.9-17.0%). Results of the study have shown that the increase in the activity of antioxidant enzymes in control variants of basil varieties indicates their drought resistance. It has been substantiated that higher yield was observed in the variant with gel absorbent. Thus, the yield of the Badioryi and Rutan cultivars exceeded the control by 52.67 and 50.05%, respectively. In general, the productivity of basil has increased with the use of superabsorbent polymers. This practice can be recommended to agricultural producers who grow vegetables, in particular, basil in areas of unstable or insufficient moisture. Nevertheless, it is not desirable to use absorbents on industrial crops (to obtain essential oil), since with an increase in moisture and an increase in yield, it significantly decreases content and yield of essential oil