TY - JOUR 
A1 - Giménez Martínez, Almudena
AU - Fernández Hernández, Juan Antonio
AU - Pascual Valero, José Antonio
AU - Ros Muñoz, Margarita
AU - Egea Gilabert, Catalina
T1 - Application of directly brewed compost extract improves yield and quality in baby leaf lettuce grown hydroponically
Y1 - 2020
SN - 2073-4395
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10317/9227
AB - The aim of this work was to study whether the application of a directly brewed compost extract (added in the nutrient solution or by microsprinkler) could be used to improve the yield and quality of baby leaf red lettuce growing in a floating system, and to control the incidence of Pythium irregulare. Its e_ect on the quality of fresh-cut red lettuce was also studied. For this, two experiments were carried out over two growing cycles (winter–spring and autumn). The results showed that the use of compost extract added to the nutrient solution improved baby leaf lettuce growth and quality, reducing the nitrate content and enhancing the content of potentially health-promoting compounds such as phenols and flavonoids and the antioxidant capacity. Microbial quality was maintained during storage and the compost extract had no negative e_ect on the microbial load of the final product. In addition, application of the compost decreased the population of P. irregulare in the water. It is concluded that the application of directly brewed compost extract is of potential use in a sustainable soilless production system for baby leaf red lettuce, since it improves the yield and quality of the product and is able to control the incidence of P. irregulare.
KW - Producción Vegetal
KW - Lactuca sativa
KW - Pythium irregulare
KW - Nitrate
KW - Postharvest
KW - Antioxidant capacity
KW - Total phenolics
KW - 3103.01 Producción de Cultivos
LA - eng
PB - MDPI
ER -