Key Words: Lettuce, Rock wool, Coco coir, Sawdust, substrates.
Hydroponic technology has many benefits that it is highly productive and conserves water and land most especially if natural resources are scarce. Normally, plants grow inside a greenhouse that controls temperature, light, water and nutrition. The study was conducted to evaluate the performance of different growing substrates on lettuce under a non-circulating hydroponics system. It was conducted at Cagayan State University – Piat Campus from September to October 2019. The Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with four replications was used to test the following treatments: T1 – Rockwool, T2– Coco peat, T3 – Carbonized Rice Hull (CRH) and T4 – Sawdust. Results show that plants under coco coir (T2)–obtained the tallest and longest roots while the most number of leaves and heaviest fresh biomass was registered in rock wool (T1). In terms of water pH, the result revealed no significant differences among treatment means. In the absence of rock wool, the coco coir can be used as an alternative as growing substrates for a non-circulating hydroponics system since they did not differ significantly.
The world's population increased greatly in the last few decades. The improvement of living standards in many countries increased with the great demand for high-value crops, off-season supply, and high-quality products. Therefore, the quality of life (QOL) of people increased considerably. In this regard, protected agriculture which is a labor-intensive industry can produce a higher amount of food for the increased population of the world. The efficiency and quality of the agricultural products can be increased through the modifications of the environmental controls, management of culture systems, and the use of technological innovations. One of the technological innovations is the hydroponics system, which is a modern cultivation system of plants that use either inert organic or inorganic substrate through nutrient solution nourishment. Possibly it is the most intensive culture system utilizing all the resources efficiently for maximizing the yield of crops and the most intense form of agricultural enterprises for commercial production of greenhouse vegetables (Jensen, 1997; Dorais et al., 2001, Grillas et al., 2001). Lettuce is an important vegetable commodity and in demand by the local markets throughout the year. This popularity has led to an increase in lettuce production and consumption in urban areas since it has become popular as a vegetable salad (Maboko and Du Plooy, 2008). Lettuce is normally consumed raw and has a high nutrient value, being rich in calcium, iron, and vitamin A. It is a good source of vitamins and popular food for weight-conscious consumers because of its low kilojoule content (Niederwieser, 2001; Maboko, 2007). Lettuce is easily adapted to the hydroponics culture system. Moreover, the suitability of different substrates in the successful vegetable establishment and their effect on growth, yield, and product quality has been extensively investigated by many researchers around the world. However, only a few pieces of research have been conducted for the improvement of horticultural crop quality in different substrates. Recent reviews suggested that changes in quality parameters of horticultural crops are influenced by the use of growing substrate (Gruda, 2009). With this information, therefore, growing media or substrates is an available strategy for advocating judicious for sustainable lettuce production. This study was conducted to assess the performance of hydroponically grown lettuce using different growing media. The positive result of this study will benefit lettuce growers and will be introduced also to areas with limited space. Hence, this study. Generally, the study aimed to evaluate the performance of growing lettuce under different growing substrates under a non-circulating hydroponics system. Specifically, the study aimed to: (1) determine the nutrient composition and concentration of the nutrient solution; and (2) evaluate the agronomic and yield components of lettuce applied with different substrates.
