Dias Gonçalo C, Machado Rui M A, Alves-Pereira Isabel, Ferreira Rui A, Gruda Nazim S
MED-Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development & CHANGE-Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Crop Science Department, School of Sciences and Technology, University of Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal.
MED-Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development & CHANGE-Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, School of Sciences and Technology, University of Évora, Colégio Luís António Verney, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal.
Plants (Basel). 2025 Aug 19;14(16):2577. doi: 10.3390/plants14162577.
Enhancing the sustainability of growing media is an important objective in soilless vegetable cultivation. Here, we evaluated the potential of pine bark to replace perlite in coir-based substrates for lettuce ( L. cv. 'Godzilla') cultivation. The experiment followed a factorial design with two coir-based substrate blends-one amended with perlite and the other with pine bark-and two nutrient solution EC levels (1.5 ± 0.2 and 2.5 ± 0.2 dS m). The plants were cultivated in Styrofoam containers containing a substrate mix of 80% coir, 12% compost, and 8% perlite or pine bark (/). Replacing perlite with pine bark did not affect leaf macronutrient concentrations but increased leaf Fe and B levels. Increasing the EC of the nutrient solution increased leaf N, P, and K, with a significant rise in nitrogen. The substitution of perlite with pine bark in coir-based substrates did not affect leaf dry weight, head fresh weight, or chlorophyll content, total phenols, ascorbic acid, or proline, even under different salinity levels. The findings indicate the pine bark is an alternative to perlite, supporting comparable agronomic and quality outcomes in lettuce. Further research is recommended to confirm these results in crops with longer growing cycles.
提高栽培基质的可持续性是无土蔬菜种植的一个重要目标。在此，我们评估了用松树皮替代椰糠基基质中的珍珠岩用于生菜（品种‘哥斯拉’）栽培的潜力。试验采用析因设计，有两种椰糠基基质混合物——一种用珍珠岩改良，另一种用松树皮改良——以及两种营养液电导率水平（1.5±0.2和2.5±0.2 dS/m）。植株种植在装有由80%椰糠、12%堆肥和8%珍珠岩或松树皮组成的基质混合物的聚苯乙烯泡沫塑料容器中。用松树皮替代珍珠岩不影响叶片大量元素浓度，但提高了叶片铁和硼的含量。提高营养液的电导率增加了叶片氮、磷和钾的含量，其中氮含量显著增加。即使在不同盐度水平下，在椰糠基基质中用松树皮替代珍珠岩也不影响叶片干重、叶球鲜重、叶绿素含量、总酚、抗坏血酸或脯氨酸。研究结果表明，松树皮可替代珍珠岩，在生菜栽培中能获得相当的农艺和品质效果。建议进一步开展研究，以在生长周期更长的作物中验证这些结果。
