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- Growth, Yield, and Postharvest Quality of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L....
Growth, Yield, and Postharvest Quality of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) Grown in Soilless Culture System Using Different Nutrient Sources
Thesis Abstract:
The study aimed to determine the nutrient source that would produce the highest yield and optimum postharvest quality of lettuce grown in coconut coir dust under screenhouse and in field under low-tunnels. There were eight treatments for the potential optimal nutrient sources, which could best support plant growth, yield, and postharvest quality. These included control (water), Simple Nutrient Addition Program (SNAP), Fermented Plant Juice (FPJ), Crop Giant, Modified Nutrient Solution, SNAP+ FPJ, Crop Giant + FPJ, and Modified Nutrient Solution + FPJ. The best performing overall plant morphology was exhibited by plants grown in SNAP. In terms of root characteristic, shoot characteristic, and yield, the results showed that SNAP was the best nutrient source for lettuce grown in coir dust under screenhouse condition. In field under low-tunnels, Crop Giant and Modified Nutrient Solution gave the best performance for plant growth and root formation as compared to other treatments. SNAP was comparable with the control in terms of yield. Statistically, plants grown using Crop Giant and Modified Nutrient Solution had the same yield. However, the highest yield (190.57 ton/ha) was achieved with Crop Giant. The use of FPJ did not result in good postharvest quality in terms of cumulative weight loss, yellowing, browning intensity, wilting, disease severity, and visual quality rating (VQR). On the other hand, Modified Nutrient Solution proved to be the best nutrient source that produced good quality lettuce.