The potential of seaweed used as hydroponic solution on the growth and yields of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)

Abstract

Lettuce (Lactuca Sativa L.) is one the most popular leaf vegetable in Indonesia. Hydroponic systems do not require extensive land cultivation. The advantages of using hydroponic systems is that it has higher production with more efficient land use. Seaweeds have been reported to be used as a fertilizer. This study aims to determine the effect of various nutrient solutions on the growth and yield of lettuce plants with hydroponic system. This study used a randomized block design (RBD), with five treatments: N1=OLF (organic liquid fertilizer) solution, N2=OLF solution + spray, N3=Seaweeds extract solution, N4=Seaweeds extract solution + OLF solution, N5=AB mix (Nutriponik). Each treatment was repeated 4 times, so that there were 20 units of experiment. Each unit of experiment consist of 5 plants so that the total population was 100 plants. The results showed that the AB mix nutrient solution gave the best growth responses. It produced an average plant height, number of leaves, total fresh weight of plant, and total dry weight of plants better than other solutions.