The aim of the research is to investigate the influence of different nutritional (without fertilizers, mineral fertilizer, organic fertilizer (defecate) by the dose of 5 and 10 t/ha separately and in combination with mineral one) and watering (without irrigation, drip irrigation) backgrounds on milk thistle productivity. It was established that in average for two years of the research in the variants without irrigation the applying of mineral fertilizers provided yield increase of seeds by 0.16 t/ha, or 46 %; the applying of defecate by the dose of 5 t/ha – 0.14 t/ha, or 40 %; by the dose of 10 t/ha – 0.20 t/ha, or 57 %, respectively. At the joint applying of mineral fertilizer and 5 t/ha of defecate, the yield of milk thistle seeds was greater by 0.21 t/ha, or 60 %; at the applying of 10 t/ha of defecate – by 0.15 t/ha, or 43 %. Maximal seed yield (1.42 t/ha) was obtained under irrigation and joint applying of defecate (10 t/ha) and mineral fertilizer, the yield increase from fertilizers was 0.59 t/ha, or 71 %, from the joint effect of fertilizers and irrigation – 0.92 t/ha, or 263 %, respectively. Irrigation increased seed yield of milk thistle by 218–284 %, and joint effect of fertilizer and irrigation led to yield increasing by 309–406 %. By the influence of nutritional background and weather conditions in the research years the quantity of formed heads per one plant varied in average from 4.9 to 5.8 in the variants without irrigation and from 7.8 to 8.7 under drip irrigation. The nutritional background created by applying fertilizers increases fat content from 28.4 to 29.2–30.2 % in the variants without irrigation and from 27.9 to 28.7–29.8 under drip irrigation; protein content – from 24.7 to 27.4 % without irrigation and from 26.8 to 29.3 % under irrigation.
Keywords: milk thistle, defecate, mineral fertilizers, seed yield, seed quality, nutritional background.
