AGROECONOMIC EVALUATION OF AROMATIC AND MEDICINAL PLANTS USED FOR THE ENRICHMENT OF GRASSLANDS

  • Aleksandrs Adamovics Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies
  • Irina Sivicka Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies
  • Ričards Edmunds Artamonovs
Keywords: medicinal plants, grasslands, mixture of seeds.

Abstract

The aim of this research was to clarify the successfulness of seeding medicinal plants in pasture. The trial was carried out in May 2016 in Latvia; soil – sod gleyic; pHKCl 5.7; organic matter content – 2.1 g kg-1. The trial included two mixtures of seeds: the mixture “Country Horse 2122” contained nine species of medicinal plants in different proportions; the second mixture contained oregano and St. John’s wort in equal parts. The seeds were sown in squares that were free from sward: “Country Horse 2122” in eight repetitions, and the mixture of oregano and St. John’s wort in seven repetitions. In the trial, the influence of the mixture on the growth and development of plants was studied, the changes in botanical composition were established, and the installation costs were calculated. In the squares with the oregano and St. John’s wort, more than 50% of plants were weeds. For “Country Horse 2122”, the count of weeds was 4% in 2016 and 7% in 2017. The costs of seeds and manual work for the “Country Horse 2122” trial were 139 EUR per 100 m2, and for the mixture of oregano and St. John’s wort – 208 EUR per 100 m2. The mixture “Country Horse 2122” can be recommended to farmers – it can be sown mechanized in lines. In that case, the costs can make about 250 EUR per ha, and the yield can be cut in the year of sowing.

Published
2019-02-05