Liquid nutrient formulations for lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) production under aggregate hydroponic system

The study was conducted to evaluate the potential of agricultural wastes as sources of nutrient solutions for lettuce production and investigate the response of lettuce grown on these nutrient solutions under aggregate was composed of sand and coconut coir at a ratio of 3:1 by volume. Ferments derived from banana peel, golden kuhol, kakawate, manimanihan, and sargassum were analyzed for N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and S using standard methods of analysis. The different nutrient solutions were applied to lettuce in drip irrigation through a completely randomized design under a low-cost protective structure. Chemical analysis revealed that golden kuhol is rich in nitrogen (500 ppm), potassium (1,448 ppm), phosphorus (515 ppm), magnesium (613 ppm) and calcium (3,843 ppm) while sargassum is rich in potassium (5,588 ppm), magnesium (647 ppm) and calcium (1,218 ppm). The ferments derived from banana peel, kakawate, manimanihan were good sources of sulfur (36-88 ppm) and magnesium (839-1,062 ppm) but significantly very low in nitrogen (2.46-3.58), potassium (9 ppm), phosphorus (0.5-1.5 ppm) and calcium (1.73-9.36 ppm). Lettuce plants grown on golden kuhol ferment were positively affected in terms of plant height (19.9 cm), leaf size (172.4 sq m), yield (143.6 g/plant), and chlorophyll content (16 ppm). However, the lettuce plants grown on ferments derived from the mixture of banana peel, kakawate, and manimanihan exhibited the highest free radical scavenging activity (257 umol/TE/ 100 g) which is statistically different from the rest of the treatments.