?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Dry+matter+and+fibre+yields%2C+and+the+fibre+characteristics+of+five+nettle+clones+(Urtica+dioica+L.)+organically+grown+in+Austria+for+potential+textile+use&rft.creator=Hartl%2C+A.&rft.creator=Vogl%2C+C.R.&rft.subject=+Crop+husbandry&rft.description=The+aim+of+the+field+trial+was+to+quantifiy+yield%2C+fibre+content+and+fibre+quality+of+5+fibre+nettle+clones+cultivated+according+to+the+principles+of+organic+farming.+The+field+trial+started+in+1997+and+was+organized+in+a+randomised+block+design+with+4+replications+per+clone.+The+field+trial+was+situated+in+Neulengbach%2C+Lower+Austria.+Since+fibre+nettle+does+not+provide+sufficient+yields+in+the+first+cultivation+year%2C+the+harvest+of+the+second+and+third+cultivation+year+(1998+respectively+1999)+was+used+for+calculation+of+yield+per+hectar+and+for+the+analysis+of+fibre+content+and+quality.+%0D%0AThe+dry+matter+yield+(stalks)+of+the+5+nettle+clones+in+the+second+cultivation+year+(1998)+lies+between+2%2C3+%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%93+4%2C7+t%2Fha.+Clone+1+and+Clone+7+achieve+the+highest+yields.+This+result+was+statistically+significant.+The+dry+matter+yields+of+that+year+correspond+with+the+dry+matter+yield+achieved+under+extensive+cultivation+conditions+(without+nitrogen+fertilizer)+as+described+by+SCHMIDKE+ET+AL.+(1998).+The+dry+matter+yields+of+the+third+cultivation+year+(5%2C6+%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%93+9%2C7+t%2Fha)%2C+however%2C+are+more+than+twice+as+high+as+those+of+the+second+cultivation+year.+They+are+also+higher+than+the+yields+from+the+nitrogen+intensive+cultivation+system+described+by+VETTER+ET+AL.+(1996)+with+200+kg+N%2Fha+%2B+100+kg+N%2Fha+after+the+first+cutting+(per+year%3B+the+fertilizer+used+was+calcium+ammonium+nitrate).+This+large+increase+in+yield+in+the+third+cultivation+year+is+caused+by+an+increase+in+the+height+(20+%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%93+40+cm+higher)+and+by+the+production+of+runners%3A+the+number+of+stalks+per+plot+more+than+doubled+in+the+third+cultivation+year.+Additionally+the+undersowing+of+clover+(Trifolium+repens)+seems+to+have+had+a+positive+effect+on+the+growing+of+fibre+nettle.+%0D%0AThe+fibre+yields+lie+between+335+%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%93+411+kg%2Fha+in+the+second+cultivation+year+and+between+743+%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%93+1.016+kg%2Fha+in+the+third+cultivation+year.+Clones+with+a+high+dry+matter+yield+have+a+low+fibre+content+and+vice+versa.+Therefore+the+differences+between+the+clones+in+dry+matter+yield%2Fha+and+fibre+content+are+balanced+and+there+is+no+more+difference+between+the+fibre+yield%2Fha+of+the+clones.+%0D%0AThe+fibre+content+after+chemical+processing+lies+in+both+the+second+and+the+third+cultivation+year+between+8+%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%93+16+%25+drymatter+(stalks).+This+result+confirms+the+maximum+fibre+contents+reported+in+recent+literature+(DREYER+ET+AL.+1996%2C+DREYER+%26+DREYLING+1997%2C+SCHMIDTKE+ET+AL.+1998%2C+K%C3%83%C2%96HLER+ET+AL.+1999%2C+FRANCKEN-WELZ+ET+AL.+1999).+Clone+8+and+Clone+9+have+the+highest+fibre+content+in+1998+(16%2C0+respectively+14%2C5+%25)%2C+and+Clone+8+(15%2C7+%25)+in+1999.%0D%0AThere+is+no+significant+difference+between+the+fibre+quality+(fibre+strength%2C+elongation%2C+fibre+fineness%2C+lenght+of+fibre)+of+the+five+nettle+clones.+In+general+the+fibre+material+is+very+inhomogeneous%2C+which+is+caused+by+the+differing+consistence+of+the+upper+and+the+lower+part+of+the+stalk+and+by+fibre+processing+methods.+In+principle%2C+nettle+fibres+are+suitable+for+textile+use%2C+however%2C+the+further+developement+of+an+economic+and+functional+method+for+processing+along+with+high+yields+is+essential.+%0D%0AThe+results+show+that+higher+yields+and+fibre+contents+were+achieved+in+the+third+cultivation+year+under+the+described+cultivation+conditions+of+organic+farming+than+other+authors+(BREDEMANN+1959%2C+VETTER+ET+AL.+1996%2C+DREYER+ET+AL.+1996%2C+SCHMIDTKE+ET+AL+1998%2C+FRANCKEN-WELZ+ET+AL.+1999).+The+yields+of+the+third+cultivation+year+are+higher+than+the+minimum+for+economic+cultivation+as+defined+by+DREYER+%26+DREYLING+(1997).+The+cultivation+of+fibre+nettle+under+the+conditions+of+organic+farming+in+Austria+is+therefore+possible%2C+as+long+as+fibre+processing+plants+and+consumer+demand+exists.+%0D%0AThere+is+a+need+for+further+research+in+optimizing+cultivation+methods+in+organic+farming+(undersowing+of+leguminosae%2C+manuring+with+slurry%2C+row+width%2C+crop+rotation)+as+well+as+in+optimizing+fibre+processing+methods+for+the+quality+of+raw+materials+available+and+taking+into+account+further+processing+into+textiles+(e.g.+production+of+a+pure+yarn+or+a+mixed+yarn+with+cotton).+There+is+also+a+need+for+research+into+possibilities+to+use+fibres+from+different+parts+of+the+nettle+plant+for+different+purposes+(e.g.+textile+and+industrial+uses).%0D%0A&rft.date=2002&rft.type=Journal+paper&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Forgprints.org%2F6863%2F1%2FAJAA17_4_2002_nettle.pdf&rft.identifier=Hartl%2C+A.+and+Vogl%2C+C.R.+(2002)+Dry+matter+and+fibre+yields%2C+and+the+fibre+characteristics+of+five+nettle+clones+(Urtica+dioica+L.)+organically+grown+in+Austria+for+potential+textile+use.+American+Journal+of+Alternative+Agriculture%2C+17+(4)%2C+pp.+195-200.&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Forgprints.org%2F6863%2F