Setting Up a Lab-Scale Pilot Plant to Study the New Growing System ({NGS}{ extregistered}) for Leafy Vegetable and Culinary Herb Growth
Articolo
Data di Pubblicazione:
2021
Abstract:
New cultural techniques have been developed to improve the yield and raw material quality at harvest, and enhance the postharvest shelf life, by standardizing the growing system. Among the different Soilless Cultivation Systems, the New Growing System (NGS(R)) is a closed-recirculating system that was designed for open fields and protected cultivations. The aim of this work was to investigate the structural setting of the system and its functioning to harness the full potentiality of NGS(R). A lab-scale pilot plant (LSPP) was designed with NGS(R) technology and the technical aspects have been set up to have a standardized and reproducible growing system. The trials were conducted on growing mature-leaf vegetable species; that is, on both head and multi-leaf vegetables, and on culinary herbs at high plant densities. Positive yield results were found for culinary herbs and leafy vegetables. Mints showed high yields for the two re-growths carried out after the first harvest. The LSPP can also be used in a series of reliable experiments and enable researches to test several species, substrates, hydroponic nutrient solutions, and fertigation scheduling.
Tipologia CRIS:
03A-Articolo su Rivista
Keywords:
growing efficiency; hydroponic nutrient solution; raw material standardization; soilless culture system; system design
Elenco autori:
Silvana Nicola; Giuseppe Pignata; Manuela Casale; Saeid Hazrati; Andrea Ertani
Link alla scheda completa:
Link al Full Text:
Pubblicato in: