Physiological differences of ‘Crocantela’ lettuce cultivated in conventional and hydroponic systems

Abstract

Conventional soil and hydroponic growing systems have inherent differences in water and nutritional availability. These differences may affect plant physiological development and biochemistry. The objective of this study was to evaluate lettuce (Lactica sativa) cv. ‘Crocantela’development in either a hydroponic system or in soil through analyses of vegetative growth; chlorophyll abundance; and sugar and starch content. We evaluated the dry mass (DM), fresh mass (FM), number of leaves (LN), stomatal density and contents of chlorophyll, carotenoids, sugars and starch. Due to the improved nutritional conditions, especially in relation to macronutrients, plants grown in hydroponic system presented significant differences in chlorophyll a (0.4481 mg/g), b (0.1233 mg/g) and total chlorophyll content (0.5714 mg/g), as well as greater biomass when compared to plants cultivated in pots (FM: 342.69 g; DM: 21.13 g; NL: 17.75 g). The lower water availability for plants cultivated in pots influenced the increase in carbohydrate concentration and stomatal density in leaves (adaxial: 45.83 stomates/mm2; abaxial: 64.75 stomates/mm2) of lettuce plants.

Foliar and Root Applications of Vegetal-Derived Protein Hydrolysates Differentially Enhance the Yield and Qualitative Attributes of Two Lettuce Cultivars Grown in Floating System

“…This finding is supported by the increased leaf area of both cultivars when treated with PHs. Second, the very different growing systems also have an impact on this parameter: a consensus can be found in the available literature of leafy vegetables and in lettuce in particular grown in hydroponics having-other than the already mentioned advantages-higher leaf numbers compared to traditional soil and substrate-based systems [39][40][41], which is due to a variety of factors that are inherent to soil cultivation, such as suboptimal oxygen and moisture contents, competition from soil organisms and biotic and/or abiotic stresses [42][43][44][45] that are the prime culprits of yield losses.…”

Comparison of antioxidant contents of green and red leaf lettuce cultured in hydroponic systems under greenhouse, and conventional soil culture.

“…There are four widely used systems for lettuce cultivation, conventional and organic farming in open field, hydroponic cultivation in a controlled environment, and soil cultivation in greenhouses (Henz and Suinaga, 2009). These four systems differ in the environment, cultivated area, yield, and, more recently, in physiological properties, especially in lettuce (Souza et al, 2019). Hydroponic systems have many advantages compared to other culture systems such as absence of soil-borne pathogens, higher yields, superior quality, precise nutrition control, resistance to traditional agricultural practices (weeding, spray watering, and tilling), enhancement of early yield in crops planted during the cold season, reduction of fertilizer application, and elimination of nutrient leaching into the environment (FAO, 2013;Sharma et al, 2018).…”

Bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of crisphead lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) of three different cultivation systems

“…The small variations of the results can be justified by the technique of cultivation, soil, climate, fertilizer, as well as the management of the farmer that can influence the moisture content of the lettuce, since, the time of stay of the plants of lettuce in the final phase of the cultivation Influence the moisture content, which, according to Souza et al (2019), being expected in the hydroponic cultivation a higher moisture content, since its production is grown in water.…”

“…In the hydroponic system, lettuce accumulates different ash levels according to the type of nutrient solution used in this cultivation system (Fernandes et al, 2002;Fontana et al, 2018;Souza et al, 2019). This can be explained by the influence of the nutritional solutions of the hydroponic system in the proximate composition.…”

“…However, the highest content of carbohydrates, proteins and ashes stands out in organic and hydroponic farming systems. Being very well elucidated in the literature (Fontana et al, 2018;Gontijo et al, 2017;Rodrigo-García et al, 2019;Souza et al, 2019;Zambrano-Moreno et al, 2015). In addition, there is also a difference in the concentration of bioactive compounds present in vegetables, due to the need of the plant to need more protective factors against the climate, soil, pests and other factors that cause stress.…”