Flood fertigation is a hydroponic cultivation method used mainly for the production of vegetable, herb and flower seedlings in greenhouse facilities. In 2012-2014, a study was conducted to identify the influence of flood fertigation with nutrient concentrations of EC: 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 mS·cm-1 on the size and quality of the yield of 'Elenas' crisphead lettuce grown in different substrates: coconut coir, peat and rockwool. The experiment was conducted on a heated floor of a flood greenhouse in the spring. The effects of the concentration of the nutrient solution and the substrate used for growing on the quantity and quality of the crops were assessed by measuring the weight and quality of the plants.  Cultivation in rockwool with a nutrient concentration of EC 2.0 mS·cm-1 resulted in the highest total and marketable yields as well as heads of lettuce with the highest commercial weight. Increasing the concentration of the solution resulted in an increase in the nitrate content in the fresh mass of the lettuce heads. The highest amount of nitrates in fresh plant mass, exceeding EU standards, was found in lettuce flooded with the solution concentration of EC 4.0 mS·cm-1, grown in peat and coconut coir substrate. The content of N, P and K in lettuce heads increased with the increase of the EC of the solution concentration.

27.4.2022