Effect of illuminants on growth, energy and ecological efficiancies and nutritional quality of lettuce in NFT hydroponics | |
| Author | Priya, Pragya |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.AE-18-01 |
| Subject(s) | Hydroponics Lettuce--Nutrition Agriculture--Energy consumption |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Agricultural Systems and Engineering |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Lettuce is becoming an increasingly important vegetable, both as a fresh market product and a ready-to-use vegetable. To date, little is known about the effects of different light emitting diode (LED) light spectra on the growth and quality of lettuce in greenhouse cultivation. The objective of our study was to evaluate the effect of different illuminants on the growth, energy and ecological efficiency and nutritional quality of grand rapid lettuce in NFT hydroponics. Effects of illuminants on the growth of lettuce were researched. RCB light emitting diodes (LEDs, 33.33% red light + 16.67% cyan light + 50% blue light) and white natural light were compared as the illuminants for Grand Rapid lettuce growth. Under each type of illuminant, lettuce was grown hydroponically in an environmentally controlled room with a 14-h and 10- h light and dark period respectively. The LED lamps produced more compact lettuce plant, while natural lights resulted in less but longer leaves. The nutritional quality of lettuce was compared under these two different light illuminants. At harvest stage (after 45 days of DAT) fresh weigh of rosettes, dry matter, soluble sugars, total phenols content, total flavonoid content and DPPH radical scavenging activity were the highest under LED RCB lamps in both crop cycle. LED (RCB) could improve the nutritional quality of lettuce by improving the concentration of soluble sugar, phenolic content, flavonoid content and antioxidant activity. The use of RCB light as the artificial light was having high operating expenses. However, it could be utilized if the availability of sunlight is not sufficient for cultivation without reducing the quantity of yield and creating any problem during the growth period. |
| Year | 2018 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agricultural Systems and Engineering (ASE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Soni, Peeyush |
| Examination Committee(s) | Salin, K.R.;Loc, Thai Nguyen |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | AIT Fellowship |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2018 |