Aeroponic Lettuce Wow
Aeroponic Lettuce Wow
Aeroponic Lettuce Wow
Agdex 251/15-1
Development of Greenhouse
Lettuce Growing Techniques
in Alberta
L ettuce (Lactuca sativa) has excellent potential as
a year-round greenhouse crop. Lettuce, a good
source of Vitamin A, E and folacin, is considered a
healthy food choice.
Background
Lettuce is one of the most commonly grown
greenhouse vegetables in Alberta, after cucumbers,
tomatoes and peppers, and the primary product of
greenhouse lettuce is the head or leaf.
Figure 2. Roots suspended in air in an aeroponic system Figure 3. Plant roots are open to the air
With aeroponics, growers can produce lettuce year Some key elements to note:
round, with the potential for more plants per area as • growing method promotes root metabolism and
well as faster growth and bigger lettuce heads while plant growth
using less water and nutrient supply. • plants grow longer and faster: accelerates biomass
growth and reduces rooting time
The development of high performance, automated • use of fine droplets, 20 to 100 microns, produces
aeroponic systems for lettuce production signifies an excessive root hairs
economic advantage for Alberta-based greenhouse • large droplets, over 100 microns, leads to less
production for several reasons: oxygen being taken up by the plants
• improved water use efficiency (low requirement of • misting time: 1 to 2 minutes at different interval
water to operate against conventional hydroponic times up to 3 minutes
methods) • root formation, number of roots, root length all
• more growing cycles per year to reduce costs increase as dissolved oxygen increases
associated with greenhouse production (for • root zone temperature: cool nutrient solution
example, labour) holds more dissolved oxygen (DO) for root uptake
• improved integration of automation, re-circulation – nutrient solution carries dissolved oxygen
and space utilization in plant culture greater than 7 ppm (parts per million), but nutrient
solution temperature must be below 20 °C
These strengths may provide a cost-effective • lack of oxygen (O2) can cause root cell death and
sustainable production system for greenhouse lettuce. increase the risk of root disease such as pythium
3
Disadvantages of a hydroponic system The feed target (ppm) of the nutrient solution should
• if a root disease appears, all plants in the system be maintained at the following levels:
will be affected, and plant death will occur rapidly • nitrate nitrogen 165 ppm
• uses more space and water compared with • phosphorus 50 ppm
aeroponic system • potassium 210 ppm
• calcium 180 to 200 ppm
• iron 3 to 5 ppm
• manganese 0.5 ppm
Growing conditions • zinc 0.1ppm
Temperature and humidity controls are also important • boron 0.5 ppm
for successful lettuce production. • sodium molybdate 0.05 ppm
Humidity: Excessive humidity will reduce transpiration, 3. Seed company - ENZA ZADEN
resulting in decreased nutrient transport. A relative • Fairly:
humidity (RH) of 70 to 80 per cent is generally targeted ◦ has remarkable reliable performance under
during lettuce production. different conditions
◦ high tolerance to internal tip burn
4
Physiological disorders newly developing cells, so tip burn symptoms begin to
appear. These symptoms will appear even when plenty
of water-soluble calcium is in the nutrient solution.
Tip burn
Tip burn happens in both areoponic and hydroponic Methods to prevent this physiological disorder:
systems and with cultivars under supplemental winter
• Calcium levels in the nutrient solution must be
lighting (Figure 6).
high enough for sufficient calcium uptake by roots,
and transpiration rates must be high enough to
enable sufficient translocation of calcium ions to
the growing tips.
• Increasing ventilation and air circulation with fans
will increase transpiration and help keep moisture
from accumulating around the leaf surfaces.
• Use low temperature and low light with the
formation of the lettuce head.
• Reducing the application of nitrogen, harvesting
the lettuce slightly before maturity and
maintaining proper humidity will help prevent tip
burn.
Under high RH, the plants are unable to evaporate There are significant differences between the
enough water to enable the transport of minerals automated aeroponic and hydroponic systems
(like Ca) to growing plant cells. In this situation, (Figure 7).
calcium uptake becomes insufficient to reach the
5
Depending on the cultivar, time of the year and
supplemental winter lighting, the yield/productivity of
the two systems will be quite different (Figure 8).
300
250
200 180
150
100
50
0
Aeroponic System Hydroponic System
Conclusion
Alberta’s greenhouse industry is positioned for growth
through access to new technology. An increasing
number of leafy crops like lettuce are being grown
hydroponically in more and more places around the
world. Aeroponics offers another way to increase
greenhouse lettuce production in Alberta.
Prepared by
Nabeel Mohammed
Alberta Agriculture and Forestry
Greenhouse Section
Crop Diversification Centre South
Brooks, Alberta
More information
Alberta Ag-Info Centre
Call toll free 310-FARM (3276)
Website: agriculture.alberta.ca