Suitability of local peat for lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) nursery production

Abstract

The goal of this work was to apply peat from Gaj and to estimate its suitability as a supstrate component for the lemon balm nursery production. Peat was improved by adding different ratios of manure and water soluble mineral fertilizer. Twelve substrates were tested. Control variants were: pure peat (100%) and a commercial substrate. Manure amounts of 10-15 vol% were added to the remaining variants. Water soluble mineral fertilizer formulations 20:20:20+ trace elements at the following rates 1.3, 1.9, 2.5, 3.1 and 3.7 g/l were added to peat. Obtained results show that the best lemon balm nursery quality was obtained in a case of the production in the substrate containing peat from Gaj and manure at the ratio of 70% : 30%. Among different dosages of used water soluble fertilizers, the 1.9 g L-1 dose had the best effect on quality of the lemon balm nursery production. The obtained results are significant for the application and improvement of local peat as the main component in the nursery production of medicinal, aromatic and seasoning herbs in Serbia.

Cilj ovog rada bila je primena domaćeg treseta iz Gaja i ocena njegove pogodnosti kao komponente supstrata u proizvodnji rasada matičnjaka. Treset je oplemenjen dodavanjem stajnjaka i vodorastvorljivog mineralnog đubriva u različitim odnosima. Ispitano je ukupno 12 supstrata. Kontrolne varijante su predstavljale: čist treset (100%) i komercijalni supstrat. U ostalim varijantama dodavan je stajnjak u količini od 10-50 vol%. Tresetu je dodavano i vodorastvorljivo mineralno đubrivo formulacije 20:20:20 + mikroelementi u dozama od 1,3, 1,9, 2,5, 3,1 i 3,7 g/l. Ispitivanja su pokazala da se najbolji kvalitet rasada matičnjaka dobija proizvodnjom na supstratu koji se sastoji od treseta i stajnjaka u odnosu 70%:30%. Od upotrebljenih količina vodorastvorljivog đubriva, doza od 1,9 g/l ostvarila je nabolji efekat na kvalitet rasada matičnjaka. Dobijeni rezultati istraživanja imaju značaj u primeni i promociji domaćeg treseta kao glavne komponente supstrata namenjenih proizvodnji rasada lekovitog, aromatičnog i začinskog bilja u Srbiji.