Comparing the Nutritional Needs of Two Solanaceae and One Cucurbitaceae Species Grown Hydroponically under the Same Cropping Conditions
Switching over to closed-loop soilless culture systems, thus preventing pollution of water resources by nitrates and saving water and fertilizers, requires accurate estimations of the mean nutrient-to-water uptake ratios. To contribute to this objective, three fruit vegetable species (tomato, eggpla...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-10-01
|
| Series: | Plants |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/20/3642 |
| _version_ | 1797572458035806208 |
|---|---|
| author | Eirini Xaxiri Evangelos Darivakis Ioannis Karavidas Georgia Ntatsi Dimitrios Savvas |
| author_facet | Eirini Xaxiri Evangelos Darivakis Ioannis Karavidas Georgia Ntatsi Dimitrios Savvas |
| author_sort | Eirini Xaxiri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Switching over to closed-loop soilless culture systems, thus preventing pollution of water resources by nitrates and saving water and fertilizers, requires accurate estimations of the mean nutrient-to-water uptake ratios. To contribute to this objective, three fruit vegetable species (tomato, eggplant, cucumber) were grown hydroponically in a floating system under identical cropping conditions to quantify species differences in nutrient uptake. The composition of the nutrient solution used to feed the crops was identical for all species. The total water consumption and the concentrations of most nutrients (K, Ca, Mg, N, P, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B) in the nutrient solution and the plant tissues were measured at crop establishment and at two different crop developmental stages. The obtained data were used to determine the uptake concentrations (UCs) using two mass balance models, one based on nutrient removal from the nutrient solution and a second based on nutrient recovery in the plant tissues. The experiment was conducted in the spring–summer season. The results revealed that the nutrient uptake concentrations were substantially different between species for all nutrients except for N, while there were also significant interactions between the two methods used for their estimation of some nutrients. Thus, the UCs of N, P, Ca, and some micronutrients were significantly higher when its estimation was based on the removal of nutrients from the nutrient solution compared to recovery from plant tissues, presumably because with the first method, losses due to denitrification or precipitation could not be separated from those of plant uptake. The comparison of the three greenhouse vegetables revealed a similar UC for nitrogen, while cucumber generally showed significantly lower UCs for P and for the micronutrients Fe, Zn, and Cu at both cropping stages compared to the two Solanaceae species. The obtained results can be used to precisely adjust the nutrient supply in closed-loop soilless cultivations to the plant uptake thus avoiding both depletion and accumulation of nutrients in the root environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:56:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5138a8eb57a8402a93d5bff10942fecf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:56:34Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-5138a8eb57a8402a93d5bff10942fecf2023-11-19T17:49:54ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472023-10-011220364210.3390/plants12203642Comparing the Nutritional Needs of Two Solanaceae and One Cucurbitaceae Species Grown Hydroponically under the Same Cropping ConditionsEirini Xaxiri0Evangelos Darivakis1Ioannis Karavidas2Georgia Ntatsi3Dimitrios Savvas4Laboratory of Vegetable Production, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, GreeceLaboratory of Vegetable Production, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, GreeceLaboratory of Vegetable Production, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, GreeceLaboratory of Vegetable Production, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, GreeceLaboratory of Vegetable Production, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, GreeceSwitching over to closed-loop soilless culture systems, thus preventing pollution of water resources by nitrates and saving water and fertilizers, requires accurate estimations of the mean nutrient-to-water uptake ratios. To contribute to this objective, three fruit vegetable species (tomato, eggplant, cucumber) were grown hydroponically in a floating system under identical cropping conditions to quantify species differences in nutrient uptake. The composition of the nutrient solution used to feed the crops was identical for all species. The total water consumption and the concentrations of most nutrients (K, Ca, Mg, N, P, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B) in the nutrient solution and the plant tissues were measured at crop establishment and at two different crop developmental stages. The obtained data were used to determine the uptake concentrations (UCs) using two mass balance models, one based on nutrient removal from the nutrient solution and a second based on nutrient recovery in the plant tissues. The experiment was conducted in the spring–summer season. The results revealed that the nutrient uptake concentrations were substantially different between species for all nutrients except for N, while there were also significant interactions between the two methods used for their estimation of some nutrients. Thus, the UCs of N, P, Ca, and some micronutrients were significantly higher when its estimation was based on the removal of nutrients from the nutrient solution compared to recovery from plant tissues, presumably because with the first method, losses due to denitrification or precipitation could not be separated from those of plant uptake. The comparison of the three greenhouse vegetables revealed a similar UC for nitrogen, while cucumber generally showed significantly lower UCs for P and for the micronutrients Fe, Zn, and Cu at both cropping stages compared to the two Solanaceae species. The obtained results can be used to precisely adjust the nutrient supply in closed-loop soilless cultivations to the plant uptake thus avoiding both depletion and accumulation of nutrients in the root environment.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/20/3642soilless culturetomatoeggplantcucumberuptake concentrationnutrient uptake |
| spellingShingle | Eirini Xaxiri Evangelos Darivakis Ioannis Karavidas Georgia Ntatsi Dimitrios Savvas Comparing the Nutritional Needs of Two Solanaceae and One Cucurbitaceae Species Grown Hydroponically under the Same Cropping Conditions Plants soilless culture tomato eggplant cucumber uptake concentration nutrient uptake |
| title | Comparing the Nutritional Needs of Two Solanaceae and One Cucurbitaceae Species Grown Hydroponically under the Same Cropping Conditions |
| title_full | Comparing the Nutritional Needs of Two Solanaceae and One Cucurbitaceae Species Grown Hydroponically under the Same Cropping Conditions |
| title_fullStr | Comparing the Nutritional Needs of Two Solanaceae and One Cucurbitaceae Species Grown Hydroponically under the Same Cropping Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparing the Nutritional Needs of Two Solanaceae and One Cucurbitaceae Species Grown Hydroponically under the Same Cropping Conditions |
| title_short | Comparing the Nutritional Needs of Two Solanaceae and One Cucurbitaceae Species Grown Hydroponically under the Same Cropping Conditions |
| title_sort | comparing the nutritional needs of two solanaceae and one cucurbitaceae species grown hydroponically under the same cropping conditions |
| topic | soilless culture tomato eggplant cucumber uptake concentration nutrient uptake |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/20/3642 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT eirinixaxiri comparingthenutritionalneedsoftwosolanaceaeandonecucurbitaceaespeciesgrownhydroponicallyunderthesamecroppingconditions AT evangelosdarivakis comparingthenutritionalneedsoftwosolanaceaeandonecucurbitaceaespeciesgrownhydroponicallyunderthesamecroppingconditions AT ioanniskaravidas comparingthenutritionalneedsoftwosolanaceaeandonecucurbitaceaespeciesgrownhydroponicallyunderthesamecroppingconditions AT georgiantatsi comparingthenutritionalneedsoftwosolanaceaeandonecucurbitaceaespeciesgrownhydroponicallyunderthesamecroppingconditions AT dimitriossavvas comparingthenutritionalneedsoftwosolanaceaeandonecucurbitaceaespeciesgrownhydroponicallyunderthesamecroppingconditions |