DETERMINATION ON THE AGRICULTURAL AND QUALITY PROPERTIES OF URTICA PILULIFERA L. (ISIRGAN) UNDER BORNOVA ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS

Five species of nettle ( Urtica sp.) are found in Turkey . Stinging Nettle ( Urtica pilulifera L.), is naturally distributed in the temperate zone of the world. It contains proteins, flavonoids, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. So, its leaves, roots and seeds are used for food, fiber, herbal medicine, colour agent and cosmetic industry. U. pilulifera is an annual plant and its seeds are locally called ‘'black nettle seed''. The species hasn't been cultivated yet in agriculture. The aim of this study is to investigate the properties of the nettle and also to research cultivating of U. pilulifera. The research was conducted in the experimental fields of the Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Ege University , in the growing periods of 2005 and 2006. In the trial, seeds of U. pilulifera from Antalya are used. 100 plants from the field trial were selected and they were harvested. Plant height (cm), root lenght (cm), yield of the plant (gr), yield of the root (gr/plant), number of branches (pieches/plant), number of globose pedunculate heads (pieces/plant) and yield of globose pedunculate heads (gr/plant) were determined in the field experiment. Total oil percentage of the seeds was analyzed.