Comparison of rockwool and coir for greenhouse cucumber production: chemical element, plant growth, and fruit quality
Lizhong He,
Xiaotao Ding,
Haijun Jin,
Hongmei Zhang,
Jiawei Cui,
Jianfeng Chu,
Rongguang Li,
Qiang Zhou,
Jizhu Yu
Affiliations
Lizhong He
Shanghai Key Lab of Protected Horticultural Technology, Horticultural Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China
Xiaotao Ding
Shanghai Key Lab of Protected Horticultural Technology, Horticultural Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China
Haijun Jin
Shanghai Key Lab of Protected Horticultural Technology, Horticultural Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China
Hongmei Zhang
Shanghai Key Lab of Protected Horticultural Technology, Horticultural Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China
Jiawei Cui
Shanghai Key Lab of Protected Horticultural Technology, Horticultural Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China
Jianfeng Chu
Shaoxing Agricultural Products Testing Center, Shaoxing, Zhejiang, 312000, China
Rongguang Li
Shanghai Key Lab of Protected Horticultural Technology, Horticultural Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China; College of Ecology, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai, 201418, China
Qiang Zhou
Shanghai Key Lab of Protected Horticultural Technology, Horticultural Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China; Shanghai Dushi Green Engineering Co., Ltd., Shanghai 201403, China
Jizhu Yu
Shanghai Key Lab of Protected Horticultural Technology, Horticultural Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China; Corresponding author.
Replacing rockwool with more sustainable materials, such as coir, is an effective measure to improve the sustainability of soilless cultivation in the greenhouse. To comprehensively assess the feasibility of coir before using it widely, coir was compared to rockwool as a cucumber cultivation substrate to evaluate its performance on mineral elements in the substrates, drainage, and in the plants. Plant growth, amino acids, and flavor substances of cucumber fruits were also compared between the two substrates. Compared to rockwool, coir significantly increased the LAI and yield of cucumber crops as well as contents of Ca, Mg, S, Cl and Zn in leaves and fruits. Contents of P, K, Ca, Mg, Cl, Zn, and B in the substrate were higher for coir while those of Fe, Cu, and Mn in the drainage lower. Moreover, coir also significantly increased contents of amino acids (His, Leu, Ile, Phe, Lys, Asp, Glu and Pro) and flavor substance (TC, PS, TP, CLL, CuB, and LA) in cucumber fruits. Our results demonstrated the potential of coir as a replacement of rockwool to improve sustainability of soilless cultivation in the greenhouse.
