The study included an assessment of the chemical composition of three varieties of sea buckthorn (Ascola, Habego and Leikora) cultivated with and without an application of mycorrhizal fungi. Micorrhization was conducted with ectomicorrhizal mycelium, which is symbiotic for plants of the olive family. The study was conducted in 2014, at the Experimental Station in Lipnik ( 53°20′35″N 14°58′10″E), Poland. The soil in which the plants were grown belongs to rusty soils and is classified as Haplic Cambisol. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with five replications (one shrub - one replicate). The content of nutrients and selected macro-elements was determined in leaves of the plants. The mean crude protein content in the leaves reached 20.3% of dry mass. Mycorrhization decreased the protein concentration in the leaves of the tested varieties except the variety  Leikora, which responded with a protein content increase. The crude fat content in the leaves of mycorrhized plants was higher by 4.7% than in the samples without mycorrhization. Application of mycorrhizae decreased the crude fibre content in the examined varieties. The least crude fibre was found in leaves of cv. Ascola (9.6%). Sea buckthorn leaves are a rich source of macro-elements (N, P, K, Mg and Ca). The results of the study on mycorrhization of sea buckthorn do not demonstrate unambiguously the direction of changes in the content of basic nutrients and macro-elements.

22.4.2016