Flax is a medicinal plant used since ancient times originates from the Indian area. In the past it was so valuable that it was used as currency. Although currently it does not have the same value, flax is used for its medicinal, decorative and textiles qualities. For the early settlers of America, flax was indispensable. Flax seeds were used as food and to produce oil. Today, flax is widely cultivated for seed oil production. Some growers appreciate the plant for its great blue flowers and some are harvesting the seeds for consumption, especially for herbal teas. In blooming, pollination and fecundation phase, thermal oscillations hinder fecundation, formation and maturation of flax seeds. Under optimum conditions of moisture in the soil, the root system can provide to the plants enough water for covering growth phases. Water shortages during the growth of the stem, causes significant production declines due to reduced stem height and leaf area (the number of leaves per plant is reduced). Excess of moisture in blooming phase, causes plant fall and reduces production. Excess of precipitation in the maturity phase determines culture weeding, loss of production and oil. Flax works well on soils with medium texture, deep, with high fertility, well-structured, well supplied with water, weakly acidic to neutral reaction, plane without dales, easily accessible during the growing season. The paper presents the values ​​of some biometric measurements (number of branches , number of capsules/plant and number of seeds/capsule) obtained in five varieties of flax oil approved in Romania, under the influence of some ecological factors, in order to determine if these values ​​depend on the studied factors. The five flax varieties used in this experience were Lirina, Floriana, Florinda, I unia 96 and Alexin sown at different densities of 600 germinable seeds/m², 800 germinable seeds/m² and 1000 germinable seeds/m². The number of branches, had an average ranging from 7.46 at Iunia 96 variety to 8.46 at Alexin variety. Given overall environmental conditions, Florinda variety obtained the best results. The studied flax varieties had a good degree of adaptability to climatic conditions in the area where the experience was conducted.

flax, ecological factors, temperature, precipitations, biometric measurements

Presentation: oral