Cultivar-Specific Performance and Qualitative Descriptors for Butterhead Salanova Lettuce Produced in Closed Soilless Cultivation as a Candidate Salad Crop for Human Life Support in Space
Plant production is crucial for space journeys self-autonomy by contributing to the dietary intake necessary to sustain the physical and psychological well-being of space colonists, as well as for contributing to atmospheric revitalization, water purification and waste product recycling. Choosing th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2019-07-01
|
| Series: | Life |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/9/3/61 |
| _version_ | 1828150033070948352 |
|---|---|
| author | Christophe El-Nakhel Maria Giordano Antonio Pannico Petronia Carillo Giovanna Marta Fusco Stefania De Pascale Youssef Rouphael |
| author_facet | Christophe El-Nakhel Maria Giordano Antonio Pannico Petronia Carillo Giovanna Marta Fusco Stefania De Pascale Youssef Rouphael |
| author_sort | Christophe El-Nakhel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plant production is crucial for space journeys self-autonomy by contributing to the dietary intake necessary to sustain the physical and psychological well-being of space colonists, as well as for contributing to atmospheric revitalization, water purification and waste product recycling. Choosing the appropriate cultivar is equally important as the species selection, since cultivar influences the obtained fresh biomass, water use efficiency (WUE), growing cycle duration, qualitative features and postharvest performance. Two differently pigmented butterhead <i>Lactuca sativa</i> L. (red and green Salanova) cultivars were assessed in terms of morphometric, mineral, bioactive and physiological parameters. The experiment was carried out in a controlled environment growth chamber using a closed soilless system (nutrient film technique). Red Salanova registered a biomass of 130 g at harvest, which was 22.1% greater than green Salanova, and a water uptake of 1.42 L during the full growing period corresponding to WUE of 91.9 g L<sup>−1</sup>, which was 13.8% higher than that of green Salanova. At harvest, green Salanova had accumulated more P, K, Ca, Mg and 37.2% more nitrate than red Salanova, which however had higher relative water content, leaf total and osmotic potential and higher SPAD index. Red Salanova also exhibited at harvest around two-fold higher lipophilic antioxidant activity and total phenols, and around six-fold higher total ascorbic acid levels. These latter characteristics improved the antioxidant capacity of red Salanova enabling it to use light more efficiently and deliver better overall performance and yield than green Salanova. Moreover, the higher phenolics and total ascorbic acid contents of red Salanova constitute natural sources of antioxidants for enriching the human diet and render it an optimal candidate cultivar for near-term missions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:37:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7a9ba3ca8f4f4060936f25d7daf26cd2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-1729 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:37:32Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Life |
| spelling | doaj.art-7a9ba3ca8f4f4060936f25d7daf26cd22022-12-22T04:01:41ZengMDPI AGLife2075-17292019-07-01936110.3390/life9030061life9030061Cultivar-Specific Performance and Qualitative Descriptors for Butterhead Salanova Lettuce Produced in Closed Soilless Cultivation as a Candidate Salad Crop for Human Life Support in SpaceChristophe El-Nakhel0Maria Giordano1Antonio Pannico2Petronia Carillo3Giovanna Marta Fusco4Stefania De Pascale5Youssef Rouphael6Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, ItalyDepartment of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, ItalyDepartment of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, ItalyPlant production is crucial for space journeys self-autonomy by contributing to the dietary intake necessary to sustain the physical and psychological well-being of space colonists, as well as for contributing to atmospheric revitalization, water purification and waste product recycling. Choosing the appropriate cultivar is equally important as the species selection, since cultivar influences the obtained fresh biomass, water use efficiency (WUE), growing cycle duration, qualitative features and postharvest performance. Two differently pigmented butterhead <i>Lactuca sativa</i> L. (red and green Salanova) cultivars were assessed in terms of morphometric, mineral, bioactive and physiological parameters. The experiment was carried out in a controlled environment growth chamber using a closed soilless system (nutrient film technique). Red Salanova registered a biomass of 130 g at harvest, which was 22.1% greater than green Salanova, and a water uptake of 1.42 L during the full growing period corresponding to WUE of 91.9 g L<sup>−1</sup>, which was 13.8% higher than that of green Salanova. At harvest, green Salanova had accumulated more P, K, Ca, Mg and 37.2% more nitrate than red Salanova, which however had higher relative water content, leaf total and osmotic potential and higher SPAD index. Red Salanova also exhibited at harvest around two-fold higher lipophilic antioxidant activity and total phenols, and around six-fold higher total ascorbic acid levels. These latter characteristics improved the antioxidant capacity of red Salanova enabling it to use light more efficiently and deliver better overall performance and yield than green Salanova. Moreover, the higher phenolics and total ascorbic acid contents of red Salanova constitute natural sources of antioxidants for enriching the human diet and render it an optimal candidate cultivar for near-term missions.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/9/3/61antioxidant moleculesBLSSdaily water uptakefunctional quality<i>Lactuca sativa</i> L.mineral profilephysiological parametersspace farmwater use efficiency |
| spellingShingle | Christophe El-Nakhel Maria Giordano Antonio Pannico Petronia Carillo Giovanna Marta Fusco Stefania De Pascale Youssef Rouphael Cultivar-Specific Performance and Qualitative Descriptors for Butterhead Salanova Lettuce Produced in Closed Soilless Cultivation as a Candidate Salad Crop for Human Life Support in Space Life antioxidant molecules BLSS daily water uptake functional quality <i>Lactuca sativa</i> L. mineral profile physiological parameters space farm water use efficiency |
| title | Cultivar-Specific Performance and Qualitative Descriptors for Butterhead Salanova Lettuce Produced in Closed Soilless Cultivation as a Candidate Salad Crop for Human Life Support in Space |
| title_full | Cultivar-Specific Performance and Qualitative Descriptors for Butterhead Salanova Lettuce Produced in Closed Soilless Cultivation as a Candidate Salad Crop for Human Life Support in Space |
| title_fullStr | Cultivar-Specific Performance and Qualitative Descriptors for Butterhead Salanova Lettuce Produced in Closed Soilless Cultivation as a Candidate Salad Crop for Human Life Support in Space |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cultivar-Specific Performance and Qualitative Descriptors for Butterhead Salanova Lettuce Produced in Closed Soilless Cultivation as a Candidate Salad Crop for Human Life Support in Space |
| title_short | Cultivar-Specific Performance and Qualitative Descriptors for Butterhead Salanova Lettuce Produced in Closed Soilless Cultivation as a Candidate Salad Crop for Human Life Support in Space |
| title_sort | cultivar specific performance and qualitative descriptors for butterhead salanova lettuce produced in closed soilless cultivation as a candidate salad crop for human life support in space |
| topic | antioxidant molecules BLSS daily water uptake functional quality <i>Lactuca sativa</i> L. mineral profile physiological parameters space farm water use efficiency |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/9/3/61 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT christopheelnakhel cultivarspecificperformanceandqualitativedescriptorsforbutterheadsalanovalettuceproducedinclosedsoillesscultivationasacandidatesaladcropforhumanlifesupportinspace AT mariagiordano cultivarspecificperformanceandqualitativedescriptorsforbutterheadsalanovalettuceproducedinclosedsoillesscultivationasacandidatesaladcropforhumanlifesupportinspace AT antoniopannico cultivarspecificperformanceandqualitativedescriptorsforbutterheadsalanovalettuceproducedinclosedsoillesscultivationasacandidatesaladcropforhumanlifesupportinspace AT petroniacarillo cultivarspecificperformanceandqualitativedescriptorsforbutterheadsalanovalettuceproducedinclosedsoillesscultivationasacandidatesaladcropforhumanlifesupportinspace AT giovannamartafusco cultivarspecificperformanceandqualitativedescriptorsforbutterheadsalanovalettuceproducedinclosedsoillesscultivationasacandidatesaladcropforhumanlifesupportinspace AT stefaniadepascale cultivarspecificperformanceandqualitativedescriptorsforbutterheadsalanovalettuceproducedinclosedsoillesscultivationasacandidatesaladcropforhumanlifesupportinspace AT youssefrouphael cultivarspecificperformanceandqualitativedescriptorsforbutterheadsalanovalettuceproducedinclosedsoillesscultivationasacandidatesaladcropforhumanlifesupportinspace |