Endive is a leaf vegetable, not commonly known in Poland, although popular in Western and Southern Europe. It deserves attention because of its high nutritive value and bitter taste caused by sesquiterpene lactones. In the experiments carried out in the years 2008–2009 the effect of mineral-organic fertilizers (Goëmar Goteo, Aminoplant) on the yield and quality of curly endive (‘Cigal’) and escarole (‘Excel’) was investigated. Seeds were sown in three periods. After four weeks plants were transplanted into the field. Mineral-organic fertilizers were applied in accordance to the producer’s recommendation: the Goëmar Goteo preparation was used twice for seedlings watering while the Aminoplant preparation was used for plants spraying in the second and third week after transplanting them into the field. Mineral-organic fertilizers did not affect the yield of the investigated cultivars. The highest commercial yield of endive and the highest mean weight of leaf rosette was obtained for the first term of cultivation. Plants in the third term of cultivation characterized with the highest dry matter content. The least amount of nitrates was cumulated in curly endive leaves. The highest content of calcium was observed in the first term of cultivation. The content of potassium and phosphorus was on similar level during the first and the second term of cultivation. The significant effect on the macroelement content due to applied preparations was not observed. The effect of mineral-organic fertilizers on the content of flavonoids was examined. Leaves of endive rosettes treated with mineral-organic fertilizers synthesized rutoside and higher amount of astragalin (3-O-kaempferol glucoside) in comparison with control combination.

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