Mineral composition of mulberry (Morus alba L.) leaves

White mulberry (Morus alba L.) naturally occurs in India, China, Japan and it is widely used in agriculture and medicine. Mulberry leaves contain plenty of different micro and macro elements. The chemical composition of leaves depends on species, breed, type of soil, amount of fertilizer, time of leaf picking and other factors. The aim of the research is to evaluate and compare the composition of micro and macro elements in white mulberry leaves. This research was carried out in 2017, in the mulberry farm in Kaunas district. Leaves samples of two mulberry cultivars 'Turchanka' and 'Plodovaja 3' were collected from June to September. Mulberry leaves analysis micro (copper, manganese, silicon, zinc, iron) and macro elements (phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sulfur, magnesium) were conducted by standard methods (determination of selected elements by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry method) at Agrochemical Research Laboratory. A significantly higher amount of manganese micro-element is found in 'Turchanka' leaves, that are collected in the period of time between the months of July and September. A significantly higher amount of phosphorus, potasium and calcium macronurient is found in 'Plodovaja 3' leavs, at all stages of collectedVytauto Didžiojo universitetasŽemės ūkio akademij