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The research aim was to determine the influence of different organic and mineral fertilization treatments and post-harvest treatments on the content of nitrogen and crude proteins in the edible part of beetroot (Beta vulgaris var. conditiva). A field trial (2003-2005) was set up in a hilly part of Croatia according to the Latin square method with four types of fertilization (control, 50 t ha-1 stable manure, 500 and 1000 kg ha-1 NPK 5-20-30), while treatments involved harvested fresh beetroot and stored fresh beetroot. The highest dry weight (DW) content was determined in climatologically favourable 2004 (average 14.8% DW) and in the treatment with 1000 kg ha-1 NPK 5-20-30 (15.6% DW) in harvested beetroot. In 2004 and 2005, the highest levels of nitrogen and crude proteins in harvested beetroot were determined in the treatment with 1000 kg ha-1 NPK 5-20-30 (2.41 and 2.43 g N kg-1 in fresh weight and 15.07 and 15.21 g crude proteins kg-1 in fresh weight, respectively). Regardless of fertilization treatment or studied year, nitrogen and crude protein contents were higher in stored than in harvested beetroot, by 12% on average. The lowest crude protein content was determined in treatment with stable manure what confirmed that protein content decreased by organic fertilization. It can be concluded that beetroot lost some water during the storage period, which increased its content of nitrogen and crude proteins in fresh weight and thus increased the nutritional quality of beetroot as a functional food.

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For the first time the effects of different sampling periods and their interaction with five major autochthonous Croatian Istrian olive cultivars and the Italian cultivar ‘Leccino’ on the quantity and composition of olive leaf phenolic compounds and mineral nutrients were investigated. For that purpose, olive leaves were sampled in two collecting periods, in October and March, coinciding with the harvesting and pruning periods, respectively. All selected cultivars had a higher oleuropein leaf content in the pruning collecting period, with the highest levels noted for the ‘Leccino’ and ‘Buža’ cultivars. Cultivar significantly affected almost all the investigated phenols, with higher concentrations of these valuable compounds in the pruning than in the harvesting period. Differences observed in leaf mineral composition were closely related to the differences in phenolic profiles and were significantly affected by genotype. Some of the studied mineral nutrients, such as P, Cu and B, were found to be significantly correlated with the most abundant olive leaf phenolic compounds, oleuropein and verbascoside.

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