THE APPLICATION OF A WHEY PROTEIN HYDROLISATES ENHANCE THE PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY OF LETTUCE UNDER NFT SYSTEM

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Maria del Pilar MARIN
Armando ROBLEDO-OLIVO
Neymar CAMPOSECO
Ana Verónica CHARLES-RODRIGUEZ
Susana GONZÁLEZ-MORALES
Marcelino CABRERA-DE LA FUENTE
Antonio JUAREZ-MALDONADO

Abstract

Plants can synthesize amino acids, however, the biochemical process is complex and energy consuming. Therefore, the application of exogenous amino acids represents energy savings. The production of amino acids by a bioprocess using microbial sources and whey waste is promising. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of the foliar application of amino acids produced by biological synthesis, as a biostimulant in the lettuce crop. The plants were established in an NFT system, with a distance between plants of 30 cm at 28 days after sowing the seeds, foliar biostimulant treatments were 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 ml/L were applied once a week until one week before harvest. The results indicate that the variables of number of leaves and stem thickness were significant. In terms of these agronomical variables, biosynthesized amino acids exceeded the values of the commercial amino acids’ applications by 12.11% for number of leaves, and 8.92% for stem thickness. The fresh and dry weight of lettuce was higher in 20.55% and 21.8% respectively, when biosynthesized amino acids were applied. The biosynthesized amino acids applied in a foliar way improves the productivity and quality of lettuce grown in the NFT system.

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How to Cite
MARIN, M. del P., ROBLEDO-OLIVO, A., CAMPOSECO, N., CHARLES-RODRIGUEZ, A. V., GONZÁLEZ-MORALES, S., CABRERA-DE LA FUENTE, M., & JUAREZ-MALDONADO, A. (2024). THE APPLICATION OF A WHEY PROTEIN HYDROLISATES ENHANCE THE PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY OF LETTUCE UNDER NFT SYSTEM. AgroLife Scientific Journal, 13(2), 168–175. https://doi.org/10.17930/AGL2024215
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