The effect of weed management method on weeds infestation, yield, storage ability and nutritional value of leek (Allium porrum L.)

Abstract

In the years 2012–2014, at The National Institute of Horticultural Research in Skierniewice, research was carried out on determining the impact of various methods of weeding on leek yield, its storage stability and nutritional value after harvest and storage. In the field experiments the following methods were compared: mechanical treatments, mechanical treatments + growth stimulator, soil mulching with polypropylene and black foil and hand weeding. After harvest the leek were storage at the temperature 0°C for 124–150 days depending on the year and after the storage it was sorted as: marketable leeks and plants with diseases symptoms and rotten plants, and also leek’s natural weight loss was determined. After harvest and after storage, the content of dry matter, total sugars and soluble phenols in leeks was determined. The highest marketable yield immediately after harvest was obtained from plants mulched with black materials. After storage, the most marketable leeks were obtained from the control and hand weeded during cultivation. Chemical composition of leek was analysed after harvest and after the storage period. After harvest the highest yield from leek grown in black mulch were obtained and after the storage from control and hand weeding. Chemical analyses showed that the highest dry matter and total sugars contents were found in leek weeded by hand, and after storage mulched with black and polypropylene foil. After harvest, the highest content of soluble phenols was recorded in leek weeded mechanically and treated additionally with a growth stimulator, and after the storage – in mechanically weeded leeks.