Abstract
Because hydroponic operations in the United States can be certified as organic, and because the price of chemical fertilizers has increased, there is an increasing interest in using organic fertilizers and beneficial microorganisms for controlled-environment agriculture. However, there is a scarcity of information regarding their effectiveness and application methodologies. We investigated the effects of inoculating Azospirillum brasilense and Rhizophagus intraradices and using organic fertilizers on growing lettuce ( Lactuca sativa ‘Cherokee’) and tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ‘Red Robin’) young plants in an indoor vertical farm. Seeds were sown in rockwool substrate, with A. brasilense (1.05 × 10 8 colony-forming units⋅L −1 ) or R. intraradices (580 propagules⋅L −1 ) applied weekly via subirrigation. Seedlings received chemical fertilizer, organic fertilizer derived from corn steep liquor and fermented fish by-products, and food waste-derived organic fertilizer at 100 ppm total nitrogen every 2 or 3 days. They were grown indoors at 23 °C under light-emitting diode lighting at a photosynthetic photon flux density of 200 μmol⋅m −2 ⋅s −1 with an 18-hour photoperiod. Lettuce under organic fertilizers had 75% lower shoot fresh mass and 64% less shoot dry mass compared with lettuce under chemical fertilizer. Similarly, tomato seedlings with organic fertilizers had fewer leaves, 75% less shoot fresh mass, and 67% less shoot dry mass. In both lettuce and tomato, the macronutrient and micronutrient concentrations in plant tissues were generally similar regardless of fertilizer treatments, but nitrogen use efficiency and nitrogen uptake efficiency were lower under organic fertilizers compared with those under chemical fertilizer. The inoculation of A. brasilense or R. intraradices showed limited effects on plant nutrient uptake, nutrient concentrations, and seedling growth in both lettuce and tomato. Further research is necessary to optimize application methods for organic fertilizers and beneficial microorganisms to fully harness the benefits of sustainable alternative fertilizers in soilless and hydroponic crop production.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by-nc-nd. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
Organic fertilizers lowered lettuce shoot fresh mass by 75%.
- Taxon
- Lettuce
Lactuca sativae0 - Treatment
- organic fertilizerse0
- Outcome
- shoot fresh masse0
- Direction
- lowere0
- Value
- 75%e0
- Comparator
- chemical fertilizere0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Lettuce under organic fertilizers had 75% lower shoot fresh mass and 64% less shoot dry mass compared with lettuce under chemical fertilizer.”
Claim · model-written summary
Organic fertilizers lowered lettuce shoot dry mass by 64%.
- Taxon
- LettuceLactuca sativae0
- Treatment
- organic fertilizerse0
- Outcome
- shoot dry masse0
- Direction
- lesse0
- Value
- 64%e0
- Comparator
- chemical fertilizere0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Lettuce under organic fertilizers had 75% lower shoot fresh mass and 64% less shoot dry mass compared with lettuce under chemical fertilizer.”
Claim · model-written summary
Organic fertilizers yielded fewer leaves in tomato seedlings.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicume0 - Treatment
- organic fertilizerse0
- Outcome
- leavese0
- Direction
- fewere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“tomato seedlings with organic fertilizers had fewer leaves, 75% less shoot fresh mass, and 67% less shoot dry mass.”
Claim · model-written summary
Organic fertilizers lowered tomato shoot fresh mass by 75%.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- organic fertilizerse0
- Outcome
- shoot fresh masse0
- Direction
- lesse0
- Value
- 75%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“tomato seedlings with organic fertilizers had fewer leaves, 75% less shoot fresh mass, and 67% less shoot dry mass.”
Claim · model-written summary
Organic fertilizers lowered tomato shoot dry mass by 67%.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- organic fertilizerse0
- Outcome
- shoot dry masse0
- Direction
- lesse0
- Value
- 67%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“tomato seedlings with organic fertilizers had fewer leaves, 75% less shoot fresh mass, and 67% less shoot dry mass.”
Claim · model-written summary
Lettuce tissue nutrient concentrations were generally similar across fertilizer treatments.
- Taxon
- lettuceLactuca sativae0
- Treatment
- fertilizer treatmentse0
- Outcome
- macronutrient and micronutrient concentrationse0
- Direction
- generally similare0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In both lettuce and tomato, the macronutrient and micronutrient concentrations in plant tissues were generally similar regardless of fertilizer treatments”
Claim · model-written summary
Tomato tissue nutrient concentrations were generally similar across fertilizer treatments.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- fertilizer treatmentse0
- Outcome
- macronutrient and micronutrient concentrationse0
- Direction
- generally similare0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In both lettuce and tomato, the macronutrient and micronutrient concentrations in plant tissues were generally similar regardless of fertilizer treatments”
Claim · model-written summary
Nitrogen use efficiency was lower with organic fertilizers in lettuce and tomato.
- Taxon
- lettuce and tomatoSolanum lycopersicumLactuca sativae0
- Treatment
- organic fertilizerse0
- Outcome
- nitrogen use efficiencye0
- Direction
- lowere0
- Comparator
- chemical fertilizere0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In both lettuce and tomato, the macronutrient and micronutrient concentrations in plant tissues were generally similar regardless of fertilizer treatments, but nitrogen use efficiency and nitrogen uptake efficiency were lower under organic fertilizers compared with those under chemical fertilizer.”
Claim · model-written summary
Nitrogen uptake efficiency was lower with organic fertilizers in lettuce and tomato.
- Taxon
- lettuce and tomatoSolanum lycopersicumLactuca sativae0
- Treatment
- organic fertilizerse0
- Outcome
- nitrogen uptake efficiencye0
- Direction
- lowere0
- Comparator
- chemical fertilizere0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In both lettuce and tomato, the macronutrient and micronutrient concentrations in plant tissues were generally similar regardless of fertilizer treatments, but nitrogen use efficiency and nitrogen uptake efficiency were lower under organic fertilizers compared with those under chemical fertilizer.”
Claim · model-written summary
A. brasilense inoculation had limited effects on uptake, concentrations, and seedling growth.
- Taxon
- lettuce and tomatoSolanum lycopersicumLactuca sativae0
- Treatment
- inoculation of A. brasilensee0
- Interactor
- A. brasilense
Azospirillum brasilensee0symbiont - Outcome
- plant nutrient uptake, nutrient concentrations, and seedling growthe0
- Direction
- limited effectse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The inoculation of A. brasilense or R. intraradices showed limited effects on plant nutrient uptake, nutrient concentrations, and seedling growth in both lettuce and tomato.”
Claim · model-written summary
R. intraradices inoculation had limited effects on uptake, concentrations, and seedling growth.
- Taxon
- lettuce and tomatoSolanum lycopersicumLactuca sativae0
- Treatment
- R. intraradicese0
- Interactor
- R. intraradicesRhizophagus intraradicese0symbiont
- Outcome
- plant nutrient uptake, nutrient concentrations, and seedling growthe0
- Direction
- limited effectse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The inoculation of A. brasilense or R. intraradices showed limited effects on plant nutrient uptake, nutrient concentrations, and seedling growth in both lettuce and tomato.”
The same questions in other papers
fertilization · nutrient: efficiency · Lactuca sativa (garden lettuce)Positive and negative results
3 papers in the same direction as this paper · 6 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
6 papers more in this group
See all 10 papers →fertilization · nutrient: efficiency · Solanum lycopersicum (tomato)Positive and negative results
4 papers in the same direction as this paper · 18 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
19 papers more in this group
See all 23 papers →fertilization · growth · Lactuca sativa (garden lettuce)Positive and negative results
45 papers in the same direction as this paper · 202 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
244 papers more in this group
See all 248 papers →fertilization · growth · Solanum lycopersicum (tomato)Positive and negative results
100 papers in the same direction as this paper · 567 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
664 papers more in this group
See all 668 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.