Evaluation of Different Growing Substrates on Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) under Non – Circulating Hydroponic System

Hydroponic technology has many benefits that it is highly productive and conserves water and land most especially if natural resources are scarce. Normally, plants grow inside a greenhouse that controls temperature, light, water and nutrition. The study was conducted to evaluate the performance of different growing substrates on lettuce under a non-circulating hydroponics system. It was conducted at Cagayan State University – Piat Campus from September to October 2019. The Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with four replications was used to test the following treatments: T1 – Rockwool, T2– Coco peat, T3 – Carbonized Rice Hull (CRH) and T4 – Sawdust. Results show that plants under coco coir (T2)–obtained the tallest and longest roots while the most number of leaves and heaviest fresh biomass was registered in rock wool (T1). In terms of water pH, the result revealed no significant differences among treatment means. In the absence of rock wool, the coco coir can be used as an alternative as growing substrates for a non-circulating hydroponics system since they did not differ significantly.