Effect of reduced nutrient solution on quality during postharvest

Soilless cultivation is a technique for growing plants in a protected environment without the use of soil as the growing medium.
The nutrient solution composition and management of the nutrient solution and soilless systems can be classified as open or closed systems, depending on whether they discharge the excess nutrient solution after its application, or if they reuse it and redistribute it to plants.
Therefore, they are more environmentally and economically sustainable because they use inputs more efficiently.
Many studies in closed systems have been conducted to evaluate the possibility of using a lower concentration of the nutrient solution without compromising the yield and quality of vegetable products.
The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two concentrations of the nutrient solution, 50 and 100% of a standard formulation, on the growth, yield, and quality parameters of two cultivars of Lactuca sativa L., in a floating system.
Two growing cycles were conducted, and at the end, destructive analysis was performed to evaluate the postharvest conservation of the quality in terms of the total leaf content of the nutraceutical compounds.
Statistical analysis revealed that there was no statistical difference between the two treatments, proving that with a reduced concentration of the nutrient solution, lower nutrient concentrations can produce high-quality produce.

V International Conference on Fresh-Cut Produce: Maintaining Quality and Safety

G. Franzoni, D. Guffanti, G. Cocetta, A. Ferrante

carotenoids, chlorophyll, phenols, storage

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2025.1442.9