Donskih V.G., Simakhin M.V., Nakonechnaya D.V., Pashutin V.R.

Comparative evaluation of the fruit of the bolt cranberry (Oxycoccus palustris pers.) in the conditions of the Moscow region

About 50,000 plants are used for economic purposes, but only a small part has been introduced into the culture. The main method of obtaining vegetable raw materials is direct collection in places of natural growth of plants. Cultivation and industrial cultivation of wild plants will reduce the anthropogenic pressure on natural habitats. Oxycoccus palustris Pers. is a species that needs to be actively introduced into culture. Cranberries contain many biologically active substances. In natural habitats, a high polymorphism of plants is observed. In this regard, there is a need to select promising forms and evaluate their economically valuable traits of marsh cranberry. The aim of the study is to compare and evaluate the prospects for using samples of marsh cranberries with different berry shapes in the natural conditions of the Moscow region. The study was conducted on the basis of materials collected from the territory of a swamp located in the Domodedovo urban district of the Moscow region in 2020 and 2021. The plants had different berry shapes: round (typical), intermediate, and drop-shaped. Accounting and observations were carried out according to the standard methodology for setting up experiments with fruit crops. The analysis of experimental data was carried out by the method of single-factor analysis of variance. According to the results of the study, it turned out that the shape of the fruit affects the variability of the length, width, weight and number of developed seeds. Significant differences in the length, width, weight and number of mature seeds in samples with different fruit shapes were determined. The obtained results testify to the biological diversity of fruit forms in marsh cranberries (Oxycoccus palustris Pers.). It has been established that samples with a drop-shaped form are most original, which creates the prerequisites for the use of tear-shaped berries more widely due to their decorative effect and fewer seeds in the fruit.

Keywords: CRANBERRY, FRUITS, SEEDS, ANALYSIS OF ANOVA, DIFFERENCES