Setting Up a Lab-Scale Pilot Plant to Study the New Growing System (NGS®) for Leafy Vegetable and Culinary Herb Growth

Abstract

New cultural techniques have been developed to improve the yield and raw material quality at harvest, and enhance the postharvest shelf life, by standardizing the growing system. Among the different Soilless Cultivation Systems, the New Growing System (NGS®) is a closed-recirculating system that was designed for open fields and protected cultivations. The aim of this work was to investigate the structural setting of the system and its functioning to harness the full potentiality of NGS®. A lab-scale pilot plant (LSPP) was designed with NGS® technology and the technical aspects have been set up to have a standardized and reproducible growing system. The trials were conducted on growing mature-leaf vegetable species; that is, on both head and multi-leaf vegetables, and on culinary herbs at high plant densities. Positive yield results were found for culinary herbs and leafy vegetables. Mints showed high yields for the two re-growths carried out after the first harvest. The LSPP can also be used in a series of reliable experiments and enable researches to test several species, substrates, hydroponic nutrient solutions, and fertigation scheduling.

Influence of Nutrient Solutions in an NGS® Soilless System on the Yield, Quality and Shelf Life of Fresh-Cut Commercial Mint at Different Harvest Times

“…One solution can be using the soilless culture systems (SCSs) which have several advantages compared to the traditional culture system (TCS) in soil which include an increase in yield, cost-efficiency of fertilizer application and water, lower use of products for plant protection, and lower environmental pollution [8]. Because of the water shortage and land availability, it is highly recommended to conduct more investigations on the SCSs and their potential [9].…”

“…The regulations of these factors are of utmost importance because high concentrations of nutrients induce nutrient imbalance, osmotic stress, and ion toxicity, while low concentrations usually lead to nutrient insufficiency stress [12]. As SCSs are highly productive in high plant densities and short culture cycles, they are frequently used for the production of high-value-added crops [9,13]. Moreover, SCSs allow for a reduction in the use of products for the plant protection contributing to the potential decrement of the environmental pollution [14].…”

“…There are several settings of SCS which are typically used all over the world, mainly including floating systems, aeroponic systems, pot systems, the nutrient film technique (NFT) system, and others derivatives [8]. The New Growing System (NGS ® ) is a SCS similar to NFT based on the recirculation of water in a closed-cycle system of the HNS through a multi-channel film [9]. The multilevel system has been developed to favour HNS aeration and avoid the bung effect due to root growth.…”

“…One advantage of the NGS ® is the reduced volume of HNS necessary for plant production. This, consequently, reduces the energy required by the system both for the recirculation and the maintenance of the optimal water temperature [9,16]. Concerning the safety aspects, as in other SCSs [17,18], microbial contamination might be better controlled in NGS ® than in TCS in the open field [8].…”

Feature Papers in Horticulturae

“…This is especially true for protected systems. Nicola et al [6] assessed a closed recirculating system applicable to both open fields and protected cultivation. A lab-scale pilot plant was designed for a standardized and reproducible growing system and was evaluated with production trials of head and multileaf vegetable species and culinary herbs at high plant densities.…”