PRODUCTION OF LETTUCE, BEET AND MUSTARD MICROGREENS UNDER DIFFERENT KINDS OF LIGHT

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.973492412072

• Palavras-chave: Leds, Quality of light, Nutraceutical. Functional foods

• Keywords: Leds, Quality of light, Nutraceutical. Functional foods

• Abstract:

  Microgreens can be considered a class of very young plant food, with a delicate texture, rich in phytochemicals and which has a short stem with one or two pairs of rudimentary leaves. The objective of this work was to evaluate different species of vegetables and kinds of light in the production of microgreens. The seeds of different vegetable species were sown in plastic trays containing Carolina Soil® substrate. The treatments consisted of different species (lettuce, beet root and mustard) and kinds of light (red LEDs, blue LEDs, green LEDs and control). The experimental design used was a 2 x 4 factorial design, with five replications. After 18 days of germination, plant height, number of leaves, fresh and dry mass of the aerial part were evaluated. The data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance, with the means compared using the Tukey test at a 5% probability of error. The height of lettuce microgreens was greater than that of beet root, but it did not differ from mustard microgreens. The microgreens under the green LEDs (9.21 cm) were taller than those grown under the blue LEDs (8.57 cm), but did not differ between the other treatments. The highest number of leaves (4.28) of mustard microgreens was obtained under the red LEDs, but in lettuce and beet root there was no difference between treatments. The amount of fresh mass of mustard microgreens was greater than those obtained with lettuce and beet root in the different kinds of light, with the averages observed in the red LEDs being higher than those in the control treatment for the three species. The variable amount of Dry mass did not have a significant effect on the factors evaluated. The type of light and plant species influence the production of microgreens.