The agronomic biofortification of vegetables is a strategy for increasing the concentration of iron (Fe) in food and, consequently, the intake of this micronutrient by the population. When in deficiency, it can cause anemia—a pathology that affects millions of people. Soil-less cultivation is an important cropping system, but there are no studies on how Fe concentrations in a nutrient solution can promote biofortification and affect the quality of collard greens; this is the aim of the present study. For this purpose, five Fe concentrations (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 mg L−1) were evaluated. Increasing the Fe concentration in the nutrient solution increased the leaf Fe content and decreased the leaf contents of cationic nutrients, without affecting yield. Photosynthetic pigment contents were positively affected by Fe concentrations, while ascorbic acid decreased. There was efficient biofortification of collard greens leaves from 4 mg L−1 Fe, and a higher nutritional quality of leaves was observed at Fe concentrations of 8 mg L−1.
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Vegetable intercropping systems use complementarity between species to increase agricultural profitability. This study evaluated the effects of intercropping chicory and arugula species with collard greens on crop yield and land use efficiency (LUE). Six treatments, consisting of species planted as monocultures or intercropped in various combinations, were evaluated in a randomized block design with four replicates. The cultivars ‘Top Bunch’ (collard greens), ‘Pão de Açúcar’ (chicory) and ‘Folha Larga’ (arugula) were used. The yield of collard greens in monoculture did not differ from those obtained when they were intercropped with chicory, arugula, or both species, whereas chicory and arugula yields were higher in monoculture. However, even with yield losses for chicory and arugula in intercropping, LUE indices were greater than 1.0 in all intercropping systems, indicating their viability. The highest LUE index (2.41) was obtained in the chicory-arugula-collard green intercropping system.
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