TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluation of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) production under hydroponic system
T2 - Nutrient solution derived from fish waste vs. inorganic nutrient solution
AU - Ahmed, Zienab F.R.
AU - Alnuaimi, Alghazal K.H.
AU - Askri, Amira
AU - Tzortzakis, Nikolaos
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This research was funded by United Arab Emirate University (UAEU), UAEU Start-up project grant number G00003332.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - Organic fresh products are appreciated and are gaining a good reputation regarding human health and environmental concerns. Despite the fact that hydroponics are commonly used in vegetable production, growers are looking for sustainable cultivation systems. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of using an organic-based nutrient solution (NS) derived from fish waste in a hydroponic system on the vegetative growth and production of lettuce compared to a conventional inorganic NS. Plant growth, yield, physiological and nutrient content parameters were determined. The results revealed that the overall growth and fresh biomass of the organic NS grown lettuce were relatively lower than those of the inorganic NS. Stomata density was significantly higher in inorganic grown lettuce compared to the organic one. However, the total chlorophyll, carotene, phenolic compounds, and flavonoid contents, as well as antioxidant activity were significantly higher in lettuce grown in organic NS compared to the inorganic one. Leaf nutrient content at harvest was significantly impacted by the type of used fertilizer. Based on these findings, in hydroponic system, organic liquid fertilizer derived from fish waste (as an alternative NS source) requires further improvements to achieve optimal growth and yield comparable to that of conventional inorganic NS.
AB - Organic fresh products are appreciated and are gaining a good reputation regarding human health and environmental concerns. Despite the fact that hydroponics are commonly used in vegetable production, growers are looking for sustainable cultivation systems. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of using an organic-based nutrient solution (NS) derived from fish waste in a hydroponic system on the vegetative growth and production of lettuce compared to a conventional inorganic NS. Plant growth, yield, physiological and nutrient content parameters were determined. The results revealed that the overall growth and fresh biomass of the organic NS grown lettuce were relatively lower than those of the inorganic NS. Stomata density was significantly higher in inorganic grown lettuce compared to the organic one. However, the total chlorophyll, carotene, phenolic compounds, and flavonoid contents, as well as antioxidant activity were significantly higher in lettuce grown in organic NS compared to the inorganic one. Leaf nutrient content at harvest was significantly impacted by the type of used fertilizer. Based on these findings, in hydroponic system, organic liquid fertilizer derived from fish waste (as an alternative NS source) requires further improvements to achieve optimal growth and yield comparable to that of conventional inorganic NS.
KW - Antioxidants
KW - Hydroponic
KW - Lettuce
KW - Organic nutrient
KW - Phenols
KW - Production
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U2 - 10.3390/horticulturae7090292
DO - 10.3390/horticulturae7090292
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85114825685
SN - 2311-7524
VL - 7
JO - Horticulturae
JF - Horticulturae
IS - 9
M1 - 292
ER -