Original scientific paper
Effects of Insect Frass on Growth and Weed Occurrence in Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.)
Arben Mehmeti
; University of Prishtina, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary, Department of Plant Protection, Prishtinë, Republic of Kosovo
Muhamet Zogaj
orcid.org/0000-0003-1936-8158
; University of Prishtina, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary, Department of Plant Protection, Prishtinë, Republic of Kosovo
Hysen Bytyqi
orcid.org/0000-0001-7352-695X
; University of Prishtina, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary, Department of Plant Protection, Prishtinë, Republic of Kosovo
Egzon Kabashi
; University of Prishtina, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary, Department of Plant Protection, Prishtinë, Republic of Kosovo
Drijart Mehmetaj
; University of Prishtina, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary, Department of Plant Protection, Prishtinë, Republic of Kosovo
Labinot Kryeziu
orcid.org/0009-0004-9508-2009
; Justus Liebig University Giessen, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Nutritional Sciences, and Environmental Management, Giessen, Germany
Rainer Waldhardt
; Justus Liebig University Giessen, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Nutritional Sciences, and Environmental Management, Giessen, Germany
Abstract
The research was carried out in 2023 in a field experiment in Kosovo to determine the impact of fertilizers (insect frass and artificial fertilizer) on the occurrence of weeds and the growth of chamomile. During the growing season, weed recordings per 1 m² were carried out twice, in April and May. In the experiment, a total of eight treatments were studied: T hree treatments with different amounts of frass fertilization (feces from Tenebrio molitor L. 1758), two with combined frass and NPK 15-15-15 and KAN-27% and one with NPK 15 15-15, and two controls without fertilization, but without and with wooden dust mulching. T he dominant weed species of chamomile were Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik., Plantago lanceolata L., Myosotis arvensis L., and Aphanes arvensis L. The smallest number of weeds was recorded in plots where frass was used: 1 t·ha-1 + KAN-27%-500 kg·ha-1, with 12.6 plants·m-2. In the plots where frass was used (1 t·ha-1 + NPK 15-15-15-450 kg ·ha-1), the number of weeds was higher, with 17.8 plants·m-2. The combined treatment of frass at 1 t·ha-1 and NPK at 15:15:15–450 kg·ha-1 achieved higher fresh biomass of chamomile at 3.475 g·m-2, and frass at a dose of 5 t·ha-1 had the highest impact at 2.700 g·m-2. Plants in the treatment with frass 1 t·ha-1 and NPK 15-15-15 had average heights of 89.3 cm, while plants in the control treatment had smaller average heights of 52.5 cm. For soil nutrients, there were differences found between the treatments, but the significant differences were for N (%), P2 O5 , K2 O, Mn, and Soil Organic Matter (SOM%).
Keywords
organic fertiliser; medicinal aromatic plant; weeds; Kosovo
Hrčak ID:
329665
URI
Publication date:
31.3.2025.
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