Development of the etero-oil/oleaginous crops sector in the Republic Of Moldova (Lavender)

Agriculture remains the basic sector of the national economy in the Republic of Moldova. In
2017, gross domestic product (GDP) amounted to 150.40 billion lei, current market prices, up
4.5% compared to 2016. Agriculture plays an important role in the economy of Moldova and
contributed with a share of 12.2% to the formation of GDP, involving about 30% of the
country's working population. The export of horticultural products, which according to
official statistics was worth $300.3 million in 2017, represents a significant share of the total
export of the Republic Of Moldova (12.4% in 2017).

Lavender, with the scientific name Lavandula angustifolia Mill ., belongs to the genus
Lavandula and belongs to the family Lamiaceae (Labiatae)
Biomorphological characteristics: perennial, evergreen, lavender is a mountain species, a
little pretentious semi-shrub. Being an entomophilic allogamous plant, through generative
multiplication (through seeds) it produces numerous forms, genotypes with morphological,
phenotypic, phenological, genetic, chemical variability and, of course, with differentiated
economic efficiency. The root of Lavender is lignified, deep, thick up to 2-3 cm. The stem,
thickened, strongly branched from the base, forms a semiglobular Bush, or almost pyramidal
depending on the variety, provenance. The leaves are opposite, linearly lanceolate, sessile
green – gray in summer and gray in winter, covered with a dense pubescence on both sides.
The strongly fragrant flowers are grouped in spiciform inflorescences, composed of floral
stem and floral spike. The flower spike is composed of 4-5 to 12 overlapping pseudovertic
(whorls). The fruit is divided into four nucules (seeds) located at the base of the persistent
Calyx, they are elongated, with a brown or gray surface, smooth and glossy, hard, smooth,
covered with a poorly permeable membrane, which germinate and sprout over a long period.

Lavender essential oil can also be widely used in agriculture. It is known that essential oils,
including lavender, can also be successfully used as insecticides, fungicides against specific
pests, against some plant pathogens. Pronounced antifungal action is used to combat
pathogens such as fungi Botryris cinerea or Rhizopus stolonifer. Moreover, essential oils also
have herbicide properties, and Lavandula angustifolia essential oil offers an alternative to
synthetic herbicide because it inhibits the germination of the seeds of some weeds, such as
Xanthium strumarium L.( common scaietes), Avena sterilis( common oats), other herbs of
the Poaceae family, such as Phalaris brachystachys L.

Waste from the separation of essential oil is used to obtain organic fertilizers. The lavender
straw that remains after the separation of the dried flowers, but also the waste after the
distillation of the oil are also used as fuel. Lavender is also a valuable melliferous plant.
Having a fairly long flowering period and a nectar rich in carbohydrates (21-38%), lavender
ensures a production of 150-200 kg/ha of particularly aromatic honey.
Diseases: lavender Fomosis-Phoma lavandulae symptoms of the disease are manifested on all
the aerial organs of the plant, but especially its shoots are attacked. At first the attack is
limited to the epidermis, but under favorable conditions for development, it deepens,
destroying the marrow and mechanical tissues. At an early attack the plants dry out or
remain dwarf. On the shoots, yellow spots appear at first, which during development acquire
a grayish color. Gradually the shoots dry up and become covered with numerous black spots,
which are the pycnids of the fungus. At the place of attachment of petioles on shoots,
especially at the base of the stem, large, dark-brown spots are formed, which cause the shoots
to dry out and bend them parallel to the stem. Due to the fact that the disease is preserved in
the form of pycnidia with pycnosopri, an early infestation of young shoots occurs. The
disease can also develop on the sectors of production of cuttings. Under favorable conditions
for the development of the disease, lavender plants dry up for 2-3 years.

The disease is provoked by the fungus Phoma lavandulae. In conditions of high humidity,
the fungus forms dark-brown pycnids, chaotically scattered on the surface of the chopped
sectors. In winter the fungus withstands in the form of pycnids and periteci in plant debris.