Effects of organic fertilizer with or without a microbial inoculant on the growth and quality of lettuce in an NFT hydroponic system
Organic food continues to increase in popularity worldwide. Similarly, hydroponic production of leafy greens is expanding globally and is an important component of the world's food supply. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the growth and quality of lettuce using six nutrient film techni...
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Maximum Academic Press
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Technology in Horticulture |
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| Online Access: | https://www.maxapress.com/article/doi/10.48130/TIH-2022-0001 |
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| author | Triston Hooks Joseph Masabni Ling Sun Genhua Niu |
| author_facet | Triston Hooks Joseph Masabni Ling Sun Genhua Niu |
| author_sort | Triston Hooks |
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| description | Organic food continues to increase in popularity worldwide. Similarly, hydroponic production of leafy greens is expanding globally and is an important component of the world's food supply. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the growth and quality of lettuce using six nutrient film technique (NFT) hydroponic systems. There were three treatments: organic fertilizer with or without a microbial inoculant and a conventional inorganic fertilizer as a control. The experiment was repeated over time. Results showed that the plants grown with organic fertilizer with additional microbial inoculant achieved similar shoot fresh and dry weight to those of the control, and dry weight was 17% higher than the organic fertilizer without inoculant. Nitrogen content in the shoot tissue of plants treated with organic fertilizer with inoculant was 10% and 24% greater than the control and the organic fertilizer without inoculant, respectively. However, when the organic fertilizer with inoculant was reused in a second experiment, shoot fresh and dry weight of plants in organic fertilizer with inoculant was lower than those in the control but were still higher compared to the organic fertilizer without inoculant. Additionally, electrical conductivity (EC) and pH of the organic fertilizer solutions fluctuated widely. Interestingly, relative chlorophyll content measured as SPAD and anthocyanin content in the leaf tissue increased in plants treated with organic fertilizer, regardless of inoculant, by 19% and 9%, respectively. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-76986ccb8f074c31afcc970a5c836d6c |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2833-4337 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | Maximum Academic Press |
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| series | Technology in Horticulture |
| spelling | doaj-art-76986ccb8f074c31afcc970a5c836d6c2025-08-20T02:12:19ZengMaximum Academic PressTechnology in Horticulture2833-43372022-02-01211810.48130/TIH-2022-0001TIH-2022-0001Effects of organic fertilizer with or without a microbial inoculant on the growth and quality of lettuce in an NFT hydroponic systemTriston Hooks0Joseph Masabni1Ling Sun2Genhua Niu3Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center, 17360 Coit Rd, Dallas, TX 75252, USATexas A&M AgriLife Extension, 17360 Coit Rd, Dallas, TX 75252, USATexas A&M AgriLife Research Center, 17360 Coit Rd, Dallas, TX 75252, USATexas A&M AgriLife Research Center, 17360 Coit Rd, Dallas, TX 75252, USAOrganic food continues to increase in popularity worldwide. Similarly, hydroponic production of leafy greens is expanding globally and is an important component of the world's food supply. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the growth and quality of lettuce using six nutrient film technique (NFT) hydroponic systems. There were three treatments: organic fertilizer with or without a microbial inoculant and a conventional inorganic fertilizer as a control. The experiment was repeated over time. Results showed that the plants grown with organic fertilizer with additional microbial inoculant achieved similar shoot fresh and dry weight to those of the control, and dry weight was 17% higher than the organic fertilizer without inoculant. Nitrogen content in the shoot tissue of plants treated with organic fertilizer with inoculant was 10% and 24% greater than the control and the organic fertilizer without inoculant, respectively. However, when the organic fertilizer with inoculant was reused in a second experiment, shoot fresh and dry weight of plants in organic fertilizer with inoculant was lower than those in the control but were still higher compared to the organic fertilizer without inoculant. Additionally, electrical conductivity (EC) and pH of the organic fertilizer solutions fluctuated widely. Interestingly, relative chlorophyll content measured as SPAD and anthocyanin content in the leaf tissue increased in plants treated with organic fertilizer, regardless of inoculant, by 19% and 9%, respectively.https://www.maxapress.com/article/doi/10.48130/TIH-2022-0001organic hydroponicsleafy greensphytonutrientsnutritional qualitymicrobial inoculantlettuceorganic fertilizeranthocyanin |
| spellingShingle | Triston Hooks Joseph Masabni Ling Sun Genhua Niu Effects of organic fertilizer with or without a microbial inoculant on the growth and quality of lettuce in an NFT hydroponic system Technology in Horticulture organic hydroponics leafy greens phytonutrients nutritional quality microbial inoculant lettuce organic fertilizer anthocyanin |
| title | Effects of organic fertilizer with or without a microbial inoculant on the growth and quality of lettuce in an NFT hydroponic system |
| title_full | Effects of organic fertilizer with or without a microbial inoculant on the growth and quality of lettuce in an NFT hydroponic system |
| title_fullStr | Effects of organic fertilizer with or without a microbial inoculant on the growth and quality of lettuce in an NFT hydroponic system |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of organic fertilizer with or without a microbial inoculant on the growth and quality of lettuce in an NFT hydroponic system |
| title_short | Effects of organic fertilizer with or without a microbial inoculant on the growth and quality of lettuce in an NFT hydroponic system |
| title_sort | effects of organic fertilizer with or without a microbial inoculant on the growth and quality of lettuce in an nft hydroponic system |
| topic | organic hydroponics leafy greens phytonutrients nutritional quality microbial inoculant lettuce organic fertilizer anthocyanin |
| url | https://www.maxapress.com/article/doi/10.48130/TIH-2022-0001 |
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