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Agronomy
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Practice of Hydroponics in Vegetable Production
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Practice of Hydroponics in Vegetable Production

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Horticultural and Floricultural Crops".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2020) | Viewed by 20478

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Steven E. Newman

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1173, USA
Interests: horticulture; hydroponics; greenhouse

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Hydroponics is a system growing plants in a nutrient solution typically for food production. With hydroponics, nutrients are delivered directly to the plants through an irrigation system eliminating the need for soil. Hydroponics is the primary nutrient management system for controlled environment agriculture (CEA), which takes place in greenhouses and indoor vertical farms.

Hydroponic production in CEA of vegetable crops uses less arable land and conserves water. Local production in hydroponic CEA provides consumers with fresher vegetables, reducing long-range shipping. Research and improvement of hydroponic systems, CEA, and crop productivity will have an immediate and substantive impact on improved crop productivity, reduced energy consumption, reduced environmental impact, and improved food quality and food safety.

This Special Issue will focus on the “Practice of Hydroponics in Vegetable Production”. We welcome novel research, reviews, and opinion pieces covering all related topics including plant nutrition, water and water treatment, nutrient management, root zone management, crop culture and production practices, and climate control of the production environment. We recognize that hydroponic production is not limited to vegetables. Research including floriculture and alternative hydroponic crops will be welcomed as well.

Prof. Dr. Steven E. Newman
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Greenhouse
  • Controlled environment agriculture
  • Local food
  • Plant factory
  • Vertical farm

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 1559 KiB  
Article
Defining Optimal Strength of the Nutrient Solution for Soilless Cultivation of Saffron in the Mediterranean
by María del Carmen Salas, José Luis Montero, José Gregorio Diaz, Francesca Berti, María F. Quintero, Miguel Guzmán and Francesco Orsini
Agronomy 2020, 10(9), 1311; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10091311 - 2 Sep 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5737
Abstract
Saffron is traditionally cultivated in soil as a semi-perennial crop, although the feasibility of crop production is today constrained in Europe due to both agronomic and socioeconomic factors. Accordingly, interest has been increasing concerning its possible cultivation within protected environments through adoption of [...] Read more.
Saffron is traditionally cultivated in soil as a semi-perennial crop, although the feasibility of crop production is today constrained in Europe due to both agronomic and socioeconomic factors. Accordingly, interest has been increasing concerning its possible cultivation within protected environments through adoption of soilless cultivation technologies. The aim of the present study was to optimize nutrient solution features in the soilless cultivation of saffron corms. The trial was conducted in a greenhouse at Almeria University. Saffron was grown in 15-L pots filled with perlite. Three fertigation treatments were used, obtained by a linear increase of all nutrients of one standard in order to reach an electrical conductivity (EC) of 2.0 (control, EC2.0), 2.5 (EC2.5) and 3.0 (EC3.0) dS·m−1. Measurements included determinations of shoot length, corm yield, as well as nutrient uptake from the nutrient solution and concentrations within plant tissues. The nutrient solution with the highest EC (EC3.0) allowed obtaining three to five times more corms above 25-mm diameter. The increasing EC had a significant effect on the increase of macronutrient uptake, except for NO3− and NH4+ and resulted in a general increase of nutrient concentrations in tissues, such as corms and roots. Both macronutrient uptake and accumulation in plant tissues were highest under EC3.0. Nutrient uptake was significantly correlated with production of larger corms due to higher horizontal diameter. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Practice of Hydroponics in Vegetable Production)
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15 pages, 1059 KiB  
Article
Reducing Nitrate Accumulation and Fertilizer Use in Lettuce with Modified Intermittent Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) System
by Vincenzo Tabaglio, Roberta Boselli, Andrea Fiorini, Cristina Ganimede, Paolo Beccari, Stefano Santelli and Giuseppe Nervo
Agronomy 2020, 10(8), 1208; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10081208 - 17 Aug 2020
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 5886
Abstract
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is a leading greenhouse-grown vegetable. However, nitrate (NO3−) accumulation in leaves remains a major issue. The aims of this research were: (i) to test the modified intermittent Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) in the cultivation of [...] Read more.
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is a leading greenhouse-grown vegetable. However, nitrate (NO3−) accumulation in leaves remains a major issue. The aims of this research were: (i) to test the modified intermittent Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) in the cultivation of soilless lettuce in which plants are grown on peat blocks in trays and supplied with an intermittent flow of nutrient solution, and (ii) to calibrate the fertilization scheme to increase yield performance, while keeping NO3− concentration under control. Two greenhouse trials were performed between autumn 2013 and spring 2014. Results showed that a 30-day cycle is the optimum duration in terms of fresh biomass yield, both for autumn and spring cultivation. Reducing N fertilization in the last cropping days never affected NO3− concentration in leaves during autumn trial, due to unfavourable growing conditions. Conversely, suspension of fertilization 2 days before harvest had a consistent effect during the spring trial, when NO3− concentration in leaves was highly reduced (from 20 to 36%) without yield penalties. Thus, suspending fertilization 2–4 days before harvesting in intermittent NFT may reduce, on average, NO3− accumulation by 29–58% and the fertilization rate by 7–16%, respectively. Yet, growing conditions are crucial to make this system effective. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Practice of Hydroponics in Vegetable Production)
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11 pages, 983 KiB  
Article
Effect of Greenhouse CO2 Supplementation on Yield and Mineral Element Concentrations of Leafy Greens Grown Using Nutrient Film Technique
by Hardeep Singh, Megha R. Poudel, Bruce L. Dunn, Charles Fontanier and Gopal Kakani
Agronomy 2020, 10(3), 323; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10030323 - 27 Feb 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6015
Abstract
Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration is reported to be the most important climate variable in greenhouse production with its effect on plant photosynthetic assimilation. A greenhouse study was conducted using a nutrient film technique (NFT) system to quantify the effect of two [...] Read more.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration is reported to be the most important climate variable in greenhouse production with its effect on plant photosynthetic assimilation. A greenhouse study was conducted using a nutrient film technique (NFT) system to quantify the effect of two different levels of CO2 (supplemented at an average of 800 ppm and ambient at ~410 ppm) on growth and nutritional quality of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) ‘Cardinal’, lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) ‘Auvona’, and Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L.) ‘Magenta Sunset’ cultivars. Two identical greenhouses were used: one with CO2 supplementation and the other serving as the control with an ambient CO2 concentration. The results indicate that supplemented CO2 could significantly increase the height and width of hydroponically grown leafy greens. Supplemented CO2 increased the fresh weight of basil ‘Cardinal’, lettuce ‘Auvona’, and Swiss chard ‘Magenta Sunset’ by 29%, 24.7%, and 39.5%, respectively, and dry weight by 34.4%, 21.4%, and 40.1%, respectively. These results correspond to a significant reduction in Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) and atLEAF values, which represent a decrease in leaf chlorophyll content under supplemented CO2 conditions. Chlorophyll, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and magnesium (Mg) concentrations were generally lower in plants grown in supplemented CO2 conditions, but the results were not consistent for each species. Supplemented CO2 reduced tissue N concentration for basil ‘Cardinal’ and lettuce ‘Auvona’ but not Swiss chard, while Mg concentration was reduced in supplemented CO2 for Swiss chard ‘Magenta Sunset’ only. In contrast, Fe concentration was increased under supplemented CO2 for basil ‘Cardinal’ only. These findings suggest CO2 supplementation could increase yield of leafy greens grown with hydroponics and have varying impact on different mineral concentrations among species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Practice of Hydroponics in Vegetable Production)
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