Articles
COMPARISON BETWEEN TRADITIONAL AND SOILLESS CULTURE SYSTEMS TO PRODUCE ROCKET (ERUCA SATIVA) WITH LOW NITRATE CONTENT
Article number
697_72
Pages
549 – 555
Language
English
Abstract
Rocket is traditionally cultivated in soil and commercialized either as fresh or as ready-to-eat produce.
This leafy vegetable is often commercialized fresh, cut, washed, conditioned in packages as ready-to-eat food, giving added-value to the fresh products.
Soilless culture system (SCS) allows to control growth factors and clean leaf production, easing and shortening postharvest handling in process industries.
A comparison between the traditional culture system (TCS) and a SCS was effected, with two plant densities (1067 and 2134 plants/m2). TCS was simulated in polystyrene trays filled with local soil and peat (1:1 v/v), overhead irrigation and weekly fertilization.
For SCS 40-cell trays were filled with 1:1 perlite and peat, seeded and floated in a nutrient solution during plant growth.
Fresh leaf production was significantly influenced by culture system x plant density.
Rocket grown with SCS produced about 75% more than plants grown with TCS. The plants grown in SCS with the highest plant density gave the greatest production (2182 g m-2). Nitrate leaf content was significantly influenced by the culture systems.
The leaves of plants grown with TCS contained less NO3– than those grown with SCS, in a ratio of 1:1.6. With both culture systems the nitrate content was much lower than 2500 mg kg 1 f.w., which is the maximum content allowed by EU regulation for lettuce.
In this experiment SCS allowed to enhance earliness: in fact, SCS produced marketable and ready-to-eat rocket in 70 days, while TCS would require extended growing period.
This leafy vegetable is often commercialized fresh, cut, washed, conditioned in packages as ready-to-eat food, giving added-value to the fresh products.
Soilless culture system (SCS) allows to control growth factors and clean leaf production, easing and shortening postharvest handling in process industries.
A comparison between the traditional culture system (TCS) and a SCS was effected, with two plant densities (1067 and 2134 plants/m2). TCS was simulated in polystyrene trays filled with local soil and peat (1:1 v/v), overhead irrigation and weekly fertilization.
For SCS 40-cell trays were filled with 1:1 perlite and peat, seeded and floated in a nutrient solution during plant growth.
Fresh leaf production was significantly influenced by culture system x plant density.
Rocket grown with SCS produced about 75% more than plants grown with TCS. The plants grown in SCS with the highest plant density gave the greatest production (2182 g m-2). Nitrate leaf content was significantly influenced by the culture systems.
The leaves of plants grown with TCS contained less NO3– than those grown with SCS, in a ratio of 1:1.6. With both culture systems the nitrate content was much lower than 2500 mg kg 1 f.w., which is the maximum content allowed by EU regulation for lettuce.
In this experiment SCS allowed to enhance earliness: in fact, SCS produced marketable and ready-to-eat rocket in 70 days, while TCS would require extended growing period.
Authors
S. Nicola, J. Hoeberechts, E. Fontana
Keywords
plant density, tray, nutrient solution, irrigation system, ready-to-eat produce
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