The aim of this paper was to find out if PAW (plasma-activated water) irrigation treatment might have a positive influence on morphological parameters (number of leaves, head mass, rosette height, rosette width, and dry matter), microelements and macroelements content, and the formation of secondary metabolites (phenols, phenolic acids, flavonoids, antioxidant activity, and proline). Watering in two treatments (PAW 1 (150 mL added per watering) and PAW 2 (300 mL added per watering)) were completed four times. The experiment was conducted in inside and outside growing conditions. As a result of the experiment, it was established that PAW treatment had a positive effect on morphological parameters, nitrogen content, and the content of phenols, phenolic acids, flavonoids, antioxidant activity, and proline. In addition, it was discovered that growing in inside conditions for PAW 1 treatment gave 61.43% better results in mass in relation to outside conditions. Regarding the PAW 2 treatment, the results showed that the mass in inside conditions was 66.30% higher than in outside conditions. Comparing PAW 1 and PAW 2 treatment, it was found that PAW 2 treatment gave 6% more mass than plants under PAW 1 treatment. It can be concluded that there was a positive effect of PAW treatment on morphological parameters in relation to the control, but there was no significant difference between the treatments.

The aim of the work was to find out the effects of three types of organic fertilizers (S-horse and cow, P-chicken, B-compost) and three types of biostimulants (BC-plants, BO-microorganisms, BS-microorganisms) on the growth of lettuce (Lactuca sativa cv. Maradona) and the secondary metabolites accumulation. The combination of manure (P) and biostimulant (BC) produced the highest yield, exceeding the control by 50% and 66% in two successive growing cycles (p < 0.05). Across all fertilizer treatments, BC application consistently improved plant performance and metabolic activity. Among secondary metabolities, the highest total phenolic content was observed in S and S + BC (≈2.56 mg g⁻¹), phenolic acids in S + BC (≈2.54 mg g⁻¹), antioxidant activity in P + BC (≈1.24 mg g⁻¹), flavonoids in control with S (≈14.09 µmol/g), and proline in P + BO (≈2.45 µmol/g). These findings highlight the synergistic effects of organic fertilizers and biostimulants, suggesting their potential to improve both productivity and nutritional quality in sustainable horticultural systems.

Ljekovito i aromatično bilje su biljne vrste čije bioaktivne tvari imaju primjenu u farmaciji, medicini, prehrambenoj i kozmetičkoj industriji. Obzirom na porast svjetske potražnje za ljekovitim biljem, uzgoj navedenih biljaka dobiva na značaju. Cilj...

The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of heavy metals Cd, Pb, and essential trace elements Zn, Fe in the button mushroom fruits depending to the growing substrate quality (substrate A and B) and time of picking (mushroom picking stages). Be-side that based on the results obtained, the accumulation coefficient of the studied ele-ments from the substrate into the mushroom fruiting bodies was determined. The meas-urement results for Fe, Zn, and Pb concentrations in mushrooms grown on substrate A indicated an increase in their levels toward the end of the production cycle, while Cd con-centrations remained unchanged. In mushrooms cultivated on substrate B, the concentra-tions of Fe, Zn, and Pb increased toward the end of the production cycle, while the con-centration of Cd decreased. The highest accumulation coefficient in mushrooms grown on substrate A was recorded for Zn, with a value of 0.66. The lowest accumulation coefficient in mushrooms from substrate A was recorded for Fe at 0.04, while the coefficients for Pb and Cd were 0.14 and 0.30, respectively. In mushrooms grown on substrate B, the accu-mulation coefficient was highest for Cd at 1.45, while the lowest was observed for Fe at 0.06. The coefficients for Pb and Zn were 0.08 and 0.78, respectively. It can be concluded that concentrations of heavy metals significantly depended on the substrate origin. Alt-hough the accumulation of Cd in button mushroom fruit from substrate B was almost five times higher than from the substrate A all determined values were below the RDA limits set by the European Commission Regulations EC No. 466/2001.