Abstract:
Stinging nettle (
Urtica dioica
L.) is a valuable multifunctional plant species, m
ainly
collected from natural habitats, but, quality of su
ch plant material is rather variable.
Cultivation of the plant allows for controlling som
e environmental factors and enhances
the quality of the product. The goal of this resear
ch was to determine the influence of
different doses of nitrogen fertilization (0, 100,
and 200 kg N ha
-1
) on yield, dry matter
content, crude proteins and mineral content in stin
ging nettle herbage collected at
flowering time. Results of the study showed that ni
trogen fertilization had a negative
effect on the amount of dry matter, content of phos
phorus, potassium, and trace elements.
Crude proteins significantly increased with use of
larger amounts of nitrogen fertilizer
and the highest value was recorded in the last harv
est at 200 kg N ha
-1
(180.0 g kg
-1
). The
amount of iron measured in this research was very v
ariable (0.62-2.96 g kg
-1
) and much
higher compared to the other studies on stinging ne
ttle and similar leafy vegetables rich in
iron. The highest total yield of fresh stinging net
tle herbage
was achieved at 200 kg N ha
-1
(15.18 t ha
-1
), however, in the absence of nitrogen fertilizatio
n, the highest values of
mineral composition and dry matter content were rec
orded.
Keywords:
Crude proteins, Dry matter, Multiple harvests,
Urtica dioica
.
