The aim of this work was to determine if PAW (Plasma Activated Water) seed treatment and growing conditions could have positive effects on lettuce seedlings and growth. The paper presents the results of a pot experiment on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) cultivation in greenhouse and field conditions after seed treatment with PAW. The experiment was conducted in two consecutive seasons in 2021 and 2022 and the following growth parameters were measured: head mass, rosette height, rosette width, number of leaves, root mass and root length. As a result of the study, it was found that lettuces grown in the greenhouse from PAW treated seeds had higher results in the first measurement for both cultivars (mass 32.26%, diameter 19.01%, number of leaves 13.49% and height 24.01%), while there were no statistically significant effects on the root system. The lowest results were obtained in untreated and field-grown plants. In addition, plant dry matter was measured and it was found that plants grown from PAW treated seeds had a higher percentage of dry matter (11.51% in 2021, and 11.58% in 2022). It was also found that cultivation in greenhouse resulted in a better quality of plants than the cultivation in the open field.

Plasma-activated water (PAW) is a novel and promising technique in the agricultural field that has the potential to improve vegetable growth and yield. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of plasma-activated water seeds treatment and growth conditions on pepper plant growth parameters and fruit quality. A factorial design of three factors (C = cultivar, GC = growth condition, and PAW = plasma activated water treatment seeds) was established, with two variants for each one: Cultivar 1 (C1) and Cultivar 2 (C2); greenhouse (G) and open field (F); PAW seeds treatment (PAW) and seeds without treatment with PAW (C). Four replicates with fifty seeds were taken for each variety. Growth and fruit quality parameters were measured in the three month period during 2021 and 2022, respectively. The significant influence of cultivar, growing condition, and PAW on fruit quality and pepper plant growth parameters were determined. The lowest values of measured parameters were obtained in the open field without PAW treatment. Pepper growth in a greenhouse from PAW-treated seeds had a higher canopy height (17.85%), weight (10.57%), number of leaves (10.5%), nodes (18.94%), and buds (37.83%). Moreover, dry matter content was higher (33.73%) as well as fruit quality: fruit weight (50.19%), diameter (24.3%), length (20.88%), and pericarp weight (49.49%). Results indicate that PAW treatment of peppers seeds can lead to production and yield improvement under different climates and growing conditions.

Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) is used in the food industry, stomatology, pharmacy, and medicine due to the beneficial properties of chamomile flowers, which are due to the content of terpenoids, but also flavonoids and phenolic acids. This study aims to determine and compare the effects of the drying method on the metabolic profile of chamomile flowers from sustainable, organic practice. The flowers were dried using four different methods: in the sun at a temperature of around 30 °C for 4 days, in the shade at an average temperature of 20–25 °C for 7 days, in a dryer at a temperature of 105 °C for 24 h, and in a climate chamber at a temperature of 60 °C for 48 h. The drying method affects the color, aroma, dry biomass, and chemical profile of chamomile flowers. The biggest color change was between fresh chamomile flowers and chamomile flowers dried in a climate chamber at 105 °C for 24 h, and the smallest change was observed in flowers dried in the sun. The highest contents of polyphenolic compounds and antioxidant activity were measured in flower samples dried in the sun. Drying the flowers at 105 °C caused a significant decrease in total phenols and total flavonoids compared to the drying methods in the sun and shade. Drying at 60 °C for two days had the most significant negative effect on polyphenolic compounds. GC-MS analysis of chamomile essential oil revealed a total of 49 compounds. The most abundant compounds in all samples were α-bisabolol oxide A (19.6 to 24.3%), bisabolol oxide B (19.3 to 23.2%), and β-farnesene E (15.9 to 25.5%). β-Farnesene was identified in significantly lower amounts in sun-dried flowers compared to others, indicating its sensitivity to high light intensity. Volatile compounds spiroether Z, spiroether E, and matricarin were significantly reduced in samples dried at a temperature of 105 °C compared to others, which agrees with the aroma of dried flowers. Discrimination between samples based on chemical profiles showed similarity between samples dried in the sun and in the shade compared to samples dried at higher temperatures.

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.

In this study, the morphological, pomological, and nutritional values of wild and cultivated rosehip fruits grown in the Slavonia region of eastern Croatia were studied. The results revealed significant differences in several morphological and pomological characteristics among the rosehip genotypes in terms of fruit weight, flesh weight, seed weight, and fruit flesh ratio, with no significant differences in fruit width, fruit length, fruit shape index, seed number per fruit, or seed length. The evaluated rosehip fruit genotypes differed significantly from each other in terms of hectoliter weight (kg), fruit bulk (cm3), and bulk density (kg/m3). For water–soluble extracts, ash, and pH, no statistical difference was found between naturally grown genotypes, but there was a significant difference between naturally grown and cultivated genotypes. Twenty-three major and trace elements were analyzed. The most abundant elements were K, Ca, Mg, and P in both cultivated and naturally grown fruits. The highest concentrations of microelements were Fe, Al, Mn, and Sr. The conventionally cultivated genotype L1 had the highest concentration of Fe and Na as essential elements for humans but also had the highest concentrations of Al, Sr, Ti, V, Cr, Pb, Co, Li, and As of all the genotypes studied. The naturally grown genotype L4 had the highest concentrations of S, Zn, Rb, and Cd and the lowest concentrations of Mg, K, and Ca among all studied genotypes. The data showed that the analyzed genotypes from eastern Croatia had good nutritional quality and variability, making them suitable as genetic resources and possibly leading to the detection of rosehip genotypes as potential sources of beneficial ingredients for human health.

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.