MORPHOBIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF IRIS (IRIDACEAE) SPECIES AND CULTIVARS DURING ADAPTATION IN THE FOREST-STEPPE OF THE OB REGION

For the first time, morphobiochemical features have been studied in 7 iris cultivars from the group of Siberian irises ("Siberian" SIB) (family Iridaceae Juss.): ‘Fialcovii’, ‘Mandy Morse’, ‘Baltik Blue’, ‘Blue Cup’, ‘Vals Katuni’, ‘Cambridge’, ‘Kassandra’; as well as in one cultivar of I. ensata Thunb. ‘Vasily Alferov’ and three species: Iris sibirica L, I. setosa Pall., I. pseudocorus L. in the forest-steppe zone of Western Siberia (Novosibirsk) in 2020–2021. The analysis of the conducted studies has shown that the duration of vegetation period for the species and cultivars introduced in the forest-steppe conditions of the Ob region lasted 122 days in 2021 and 160 days in 2020. Irises, as representatives of short-rooted geophytes, had a phenorhythmotype with a long-term spring-autumn vegetation and early summer flowering. Mass flowering of iris species and cultivars in Novosibirsk was observed in late June. Flowering period varied depending on cultivars from 14 to 30 days. During the flowering period of irises, the sum of positive temperatures was 560–790 o C. According to morphometric indicators, cultivar specificity has been recorded; short-grown, medium-grown and tall-grown cultivars have been distinguished. Biochemical parameters (ascorbic acid, tannins) and ash content differed in quantitative concentration in organs of both iris species and cultivars. The tannin content in flowers (in the range of 2.28–2.89 %) was recorded in the cultivars ‘Fialcovy’, ‘Kassandra’, ‘Cambridge’, ‘Baltik Blue’ and ‘Mandy Morse’ during the dry growing season in 2021. The highest level of tannin concentration (3.08 %) was noted in the flowers of I. setosa. Ash content indications in flowers of Siberian iris’s species and cultivars for different flowering years are 1.1–1.3 times higher in 2021, except for I. sibirica. An increase in the content of ascorbic acid in flowers (by 1.1–1.3 times) in the dry period of 2021 has been revealed. In the cultivar ‘Vals Katuni’, ascorbic acid concentration in flowers for different vegetation years is relatively constant (18.54–18.73 %). The content of ascorbic acid in leaves and rhizomes is 1.2 times higher in I. pseudocorus compared to I. sibirica and I. setosa. The level of tannin concentration in I. sibirica is 1.3 times higher in leaves and 1.5 times higher in rhizomes than in flowers. It is shown that the hydro and heat supply during vegetation periods within cultivation of irises affect the variation of secondary metabolites and ash content in aboveground and underground organs, providing irises’ stable adaptation ability to the conditions of the forest-steppe zone of Western Siberia at the intra-species and varietal levels. These types and cultivars can be widely used in the landscaping of Siberian cities.