Soilless Culture Technology for High Quality Lettuce

Abstract

The aim of this research was to evaluate butterhead lettuce quality in a soilless culture system. Butterhead lettuce cultivar "Lores" was cultivated, and two experiments were performed. In the first, floating system (FS) and soil culture (SC) were compared in fall (autumn) prduction [2002-2003], while in the second, substrate culture (PC) (plastic gutter filled with perlite) with three different levels of calcium (0, 3, and 6 me L-1) in the nutrient solution were compared in spring production [2003]. Growing cycles varied according to the culture system. In general, plants harvested from the soilless culture had a lower dry weight and leaf area, however significant differences were observed in productivity. Nitrate content was significantly affected by the production system. Ascorbic acid content showed no differences resulting from treatments. Floating system results showed some variation between the two years of the experiment. Inorganic cation differences were observed between plant harvest from all systems, especially in K + and Mg 2+. Colour intensity changes between production systems were insignificant. No variation in incidence of tip-burn relating to different calcium levels was found in lettuce grown in perlite.

Comparative Study of Ascorbic Acid and Tocopherol Concentrations in Hydroponic- and Soil-Grown Lettuces

“…There was no significant difference between hydroponically-grown and soil-grown Butterleaf lettuces (Tables 1 and 2). These findings are consistent with the nutritional information for soil-grown Butterleaf lettuce previously published [18] and another study comparing hydroponically-and soil-grown butterleaf lettuces [19]. Both conditions were still significantly lower in ascorbic acid and tocopherol regardless of growing method.…”

Influence of Soilless Culture Substrate on Improvement of Yield and Produce Quality of Horticultural Crops

“…Thus, in order to increase the qualities of horticultural produce appropriate fertilizer application, especially nitrogen and phosphorus along with growing substrate prepared from organic materials are suggested [65]. Several studies showed that in general plants harvested from soilless culture had a lower dry weight and leaf area, however, significantly higher productivity were observed at the end of harvest [66]. In this culture system, high concentration of nitrogenous fertilizer enhance the vigorous growth, which reduce the penetration of light intensity to the whole canopy due to huge foliage and thus reduce the accumulation of ascorbic acid in shaded parts.…”

Konsumsi dan Kebutuhan Air Selada Pada Teknik Hidroponik Sistem Terapung

“…THST menghasilkan prosedur pencucian yang lebih ringan dan mengurangi pemborosan air oleh konsumen. Dalam THST, pengendalian salinitas membantu peningkatan karakteristik kualitas pasca panen dan bahkan menghilangkan kandungan nitrat dalam sayuran berdaun (Frezza, León, Logegaray, Chiesa, Desimone, & Diaz, 2005;Fallovo, Rouphael, Rea, Battistelli, & Colla, 2009;Scuderi, Restuccia, Chisari, Barbagallo, Caggia, & Giuffrida, 2011). Pada sistem ini tidak dilakukan sirkulasi larutan hara, sehingga dapat mengurangi ketergantungan terhadap ketersediaan energi listrik.…”