Hydroponics Showdown: Which System Grows Lettuce Best?

This article examines how hydroponic systems affect lettuce growth, focusing on optimizing plant growth and yield. Urbanization and the demand for clean, pesticide-free vegetables necessitate hydroponic methods for city farmers. Five hydroponic systems were used: Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), Deep Film Technique (DFT), Ebb and Flow System (EFS), Aeroponic System (AS), and Floating Raft System (RFS). Analyzing plant height, leaf count, fresh and dry weight, and shoot-root ratio helps identify the best system for enhancing lettuce growth. These findings equip farmers with the tools to be sustainable and efficient.

Figure 1 compares the heights of lettuce plants grown in the five hydroponic systems. The independent variables were the different systems, while the dependent variable was plant height. Nutrient composition, light, and water quality were consistent across all systems for a fair comparison. Plants in the Aeroponic System (AS) grew the tallest, averaging 20 cm, followed by the Deep Film Technique (DFT) and Floating Raft System (RFS). Plants in the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) and Ebb and Flow System (EFS) reached shorter heights, averaging 17 cm. These results show that increased oxygen in AS enhances nutrient absorption, promoting greater plant height, suggesting that oxygen-rich systems like AS provide considerable advantages.

Figure 2 shows the leaf count of lettuce plants across hydroponic systems. Each system serves as the independent variable, while leaf number is the dependent variable, assuming that light, temperature, and nutrient quality remain constant. The Floating Raft System (RFS) produced the most leaves, averaging 13 per plant, while the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) and Ebb and Flow System (EFS) yielded fewer, with about 9-10 leaves on average. The nutrient and water in the RFS reduces nutrient stress, enabling leaf growth, showing RFS's ability to increase leaf yield, particularly for crops like lettuce where leaf biomass is crucial for productivity.

Figure 3 examines the fresh and dry weights of lettuce grown in hydroponic systems. This figure shows the systems as the independent variable; fresh and dry weights as the dependent variables; and nutrient concentration, pH, and water temperature as controls. Results indicated that the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) produced the highest fresh weights, averaging around 250 grams per plant, about 6-10% higher than the Floating Raft System (RFS), averaging 180 grams. The dry weight also favored NFT, reaching 30 grams compared to 22 grams for RFS. These findings reveal NFT’s effectiveness in promoting biomass accumulation, making it an ideal choice for maximizing yield in hydroponic setups.

This study illustrates how different hydroponic systems influence various growth parameters in lettuce, providing insights for urban farming practices. The Aeroponic System (AS) excelled in promoting plant height due to higher oxygen levels that enhance nutrient uptake, while the Floating Raft System (RFS) led in leaf production by ensuring steady nutrient delivery. The Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) and Deep Film Technique (DFT) showed the best results for fresh and dry weight, indicating their effectiveness in maximizing overall growth potential. Together, these findings suggest that each hydroponic system has strengths tailored to specific growth outcomes, allowing farmers to select systems based on desired crop traits. Future research could refine these results by optimizing nutrient and oxygen levels or developing hybrid systems to improve growth efficiency in urban agriculture.

Frasetya, B. (2021). The effect of hydroponics systems on the growth of lettuce. Purpose-LED

Publishing, 1096, 1-6. 10.1088/1757-899X/1098/4/042115