Perspectives of small-and large-scale cultivation of medicinal, aromatic and spice plants in Slovakia

Slovak Republic (or Slovakia) is a country located in the Central Europe. It lies in the climatically favourable mild zone of Northern Hemisphere. Nowadays, about 200 medicinal plants are used in the official therapy and in popular health medicine, respectively. A wide range of herbs, which are now produced in Slovakia; can be divided into the three broad categories: (a) those collected from the wild (either individually or on commercial scale); (b) contracted supplies from small-scale growers; and (c) large-scale production on agricultural farms. The large-scale cultivation of medicinal plants belongs to the special agricultural production. It is only way of supply the contracted volume and quality of these crops and products. From the current state of medicinal, aromatic and spice plants cultivation in Slovakia, it showed a partial increase of growing areas on arable land [ha], total production [kg] and yield per hectare [kg ha⁻¹]. Presented data were taken directly from the producers from the period of 2010 to 2017. The milk thistle (Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn), plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.), German chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.), mint (Mentha ×piperita L.), and lavender (Lavandula angustifolia L.) were the most cultivated medicinal plants from the acreage of arable land viewpoint. The medicinal crop production at the specialized agricultural farms possesses a great importance in offering appropriate job opportunities for unemployed people, better utilization of marginal land resources and economic returns. The important elements for optimal technology of medicinal plants cultivation are: selection of suitable biological material, soil cultivation, seeding and planting, nutrition and fertilization, control of harmful factors (pests, diseases, weeds etc.), harvest, processing and conservation. The long-term aim in the Slovakian production of medicinal, aromatic and spice plants is a targeted expansion of cultivation areas with simultaneous increase in overall yield production as well as quantity of harvested raw material.