Lettuce is one of the most widely cultivated crops globally, valued for its commercial significance, ease of cultivation, and relatively short growth cycle. At an agricultural production scale, lettuce demonstrates remarkable adaptability, with different varieties being assessed based on climatic conditions and their potential yield. In this study, the performance of the L. sativa Quenty variety was evaluated under two cultivation methods: hydroponic Deep-Water Culture (DWC) and Aquaponics. The evaluation focused on comparing yield and growth performance. The findings from this study highlight the adaptability of the Quenty variety across different cultivation systems, providing insights into optimizing production methods for maximizing yield and growth.
The yield and growth of lettuce grown in an aquaponic water recirculation system, using rainbow trout (O. mykiss), was evaluated in parallel with the performance of the same species in DWC system, for the summer period in the southern hemisphere.
The experimental design considered 2 DWC rectangular hydroponic beds, with a single inlet and outlet, hydraulically supplied by a cylindrical trout tank in continuous water recirculation. This scheme was run in duplicate. At the same time (Fig. 1).
The system operated with two DWC rectangular hydroponic beds (H1 and H2), with three inlets and one outlet, the flow rate of these beds operated by means of 6 pulses of 30 minutes each.
Aquaponics systems A1 and A2 generated nutrients faster than A3 and A4, despite starting with the same conditions. The difference in nutrient generation rate is attributed to the high sensitivity of the biofiltration treatment, which convert ammonium to nitrate. This condition affected the growth and yield of A1 and A2 modules, unlike what was observed in H1 and H2 systems, where this variation did not significative (Fig. 2).