Achenes of common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) in packages of sunflower achenes for outdoor birds | Plodovi pelinolistne žvrklje (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) v paketih sončničnih plodov za prostoživeče ptice

English. Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) is a highly invasive annual plant, introduced to Europe from North America. One of the important spreading vectors of Ambrosia is trading with contaminated sunflower achenes. We analysed the content of ragweed achenes in the packages of sunflower achenes for outdoor birds, which are available in Slovenian shops and markets. The ragweed achenes were found in 29 % of the 28 analysed packages. In three packages, the mass percentage of Ambrosia achenes per kg of animal feed exceeded the maximum content (50 mg/kg) allowed by EU law. The analysis showed that it is not possible to infer the presence or absence of Ambrosia achenes in a sample from the amount of impurities in the package of sunflower achenes for bird feed.

Slovenian. Pelinolistna žvrklja (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) je invazivna tujerodna enoletnica, ki je bila v Evropo prinesena iz Severne Amerike. Pomemben vektor širjenja vrste predstavlja transport in trgovanje s plodovi sončnic, ki vsebujejo primešane plodove žvrklje. V raziskavi smo preverjali prisotnost plodov žvrklje v paketih sončničnih plodov za hranjenje prostoživečih ptic. Plodovi žvrklje so bili prisotni v 29 % od 28 paketov hrane za ptice, ki smo jih kupili v slovenskih trgovinah. V treh paketih je količina plodov presegala največjo določeno količino plodov žvrklje, kot jo določa evropska zakonodaja (največ 50 mg/kg). Ugotovili smo tudi, da količinanečistoč v paketu ni povezana s prisotnostjo plodov žvrklje.