Preliminary results of container and substrate effect on yield characteristics of Scolymus hispanicus L. in soilless cultivation system

During the last decades, there has been a growing demand for wild edible vegetable consumption which are considered a staple of the Mediterranean diet for their high nutritional value (Petropoulos et al., 2018). Although the Mediterranean landscape hosts more than twenty wild edible vegetable species (such as Crithmum maritimum, Cynara cardunculus and Taraxacum officinale) which could be commercially cultivated, the cultivation process has not been sufficiently studied (Chatzigianni et al., 2019; Corrêa et al., 2020; Papadimitriou et al., 2020). In this context, we examine the feasibility of soilless cultivation of the wild edible species Scolymus hispanicus L. (Asteraceae) in five substrates including perlite (PE), coir (CO), and three mixtures of perlite and coir at 3:1 (3P1C), 1:1 (1P1C) and 1:3 (1P3C) ratio, in two different containers (grow bag and pot container). Three S. hispanicus L. seedlings were transplanted per grow bag (24 L) and one seedling per plastic pot (8 L) resulting in 8 L of substrate for each plant and 12 plants per substrate. The plants were fertigated daily with a standard nutrient solution which was identical in all ten treatments of the experiment. Four months after transplant, yield characteristics of plants, including leaf number, leaf and tuberous root fresh weight [g] and rosette diameter [cm], were examined. Statistical analysis of the results demonstrates a significant increase in rosette diameter [cm], leaf and tuberous root fresh weight [g] in CO, 1P3C and 1P1C compared to those of 3P1C and PE substrates. Additionally, the use of grow bags significantly increased leaf number and leaf fresh weight [g] compared to those achieved with the use of pot containers, contrariwise pot significantly increased root fresh weight [g] compared to the growbag container. Based on these results, we conclude that an optimal hydroponic system should use mixture of Coir and Perlite substrate of 1:1 ratio in a grow bag container.

Reference

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