Journal
HORTICULTURAE
Volume 8, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/horticulturae8010030
Keywords
nitrates; organic fertilization; aquaponics system; Lactuca sativa L; selenium; tilapia fish; amino acids
Categories
Funding
- European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 80%-Region de Murcia (FEDER) [1420-30]
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Aquaponics is a sustainable technique that can produce healthier and more sustainable products. This study found that applying selenium to lettuce plants grown in an aquaponics system improved nitrogen utilization efficiency and enhanced photosynthetic rate and antioxidant capacity.
Aquaponics is a sustainable technique that is respectful to the environment, as it reuses products and minimizes the consumption of new materials. The combination of this technique with the foliar application of selenium (as Na2SeO4) could lead to healthier and more sustainable products, which are increasingly requested by consumers. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) plants were grown in an aquaponics system (fish water) as compared with a control (conventional soilless fertigation), and sprayed with different concentrations of selenium (0, 4, 8, and 16 mu mol L-1). The results showed a reduction in the dry weight and N content of lettuce plants irrigated with the fish water mixture treatment. However, the application of Se relieved this stress, increasing the photosynthetic rate and ABTS, and reducing the content of chlorophylls, beta -carotene, and several of the measured amino acids. The best results were observed with the highest concentration of Se (16 mu mol L-1), as an increase in nitrogen content was observed, as shown by a greater weight of the plant. Furthermore, this treatment produced the greatest increase in ABTS and the least reduction in amino acid content. This novel study highlights the possibility of improving the efficiency of N utilization in lettuce by applying foliar selenium in combination with an aquaponics system.
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