POTENTIAL USAGE OF MENTHA SPICATA L. AND ORIGANUM ONITES L. EXTRACTS AS STIMULANTS IN ORGANIC TOMATO SEEDLING CULTIVATION

Synthetic chemicals, which are increasingly used in agriculture, have reached a level that threatens human and environmental health. For this reason. it is necessary to develop new preparations which can be used in sustainable agriculture and provide an alternative to synthetic chemicals. The effects of essential oils, which are among the natural products used for this purpose, vary depending on the oil and their doses used. However, studies on this subject are quite limited. In this research different doses of Mentha spicata L. and Origanum onites L. extract were applied on tomato seedlings and effects of these extracts on the vegetative growth and some biochemical and nutrient contents of seedlings were compared. As a result, the stem diameter, chlorophyll index and leaf properties of tomatoes treated with the extract are better than the synthetic fertilizer application. When examining macro and micro nutrient contents of the seedlings, Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg) and Iron (Fe) contents and also total antioxidant activity (TAA) and total phenolic content (TPC) were higher plants treated with extracts compared to plants treated with synthetic fertilizer applications. It can be concluded that extracts of M. spicata L. and O. onites L. can be used in organic tomato seedling cultivation.