The fight against weeds in the organic cultivation of herbal plants, both raw and for seeds, is a big challenge
for growers. The paper compares the chemical (bentazon, 960 g·ha
–1
and fluazifop-P-butyl, 150 g·ha
–1
) and
nonchemical (scattering mustard seed meal in two doses 1.5 and 3.0 t·ha
–1
) control of weeds in the cultivation
of lemon balm for seeds. Additionally, the influence of these factors on the yield of fresh herb and seeds of
lemon balm and the sowing value of seeds was evaluated. The best method to control the weed infestation
was to use mustard seed meal in an amount of 3.0 t∙ha
–1
. Scattering of mustard seed meal in that dose reduced
the number and weight of weeds on average from two years of research by 52.1 and 60.2% in relation to
unweeded control. Following methods were slightly less effective: bentazon and application of mustard seed
meal in quantity of 1.5 t·ha
–1
. The largest yield of fresh lemon balm herb was collected from plots where
mustard seed meal was used in an amount of 3.0 t∙ha
–1
. Seeds harvested from plots, on which mustard seed
meal was used in a larger quantity was characterized by the lowest sowing value determined by the lowest
energy and capacity of germination and the highest share of nongerminated seeds. Lowering the amount of
used mustard seed meal to 1.5 t·ha
–1
significantly improved their sowing value. Although this method was
less effective in counteracting weeds than using larger dose, it provided comparable effects of reducing the
number and weight of weeds in relation to chemical protection.