Spatial productivity and water use in hydroponic and soil-based Lactuca sativa L. systems
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15517/0g2vvy40Keywords:
controlled environments, vertical farming, indoor cultivation, artificial lighting, soilless culture, water productivity, plant nutrition, crop cycleAbstract
Introduction. A comprehensive evaluation of hydroponic production systems relative to conventional approaches is essential for understanding their performance, particularly regarding resource-use efficiency and spatial intensification. Objective. To compare the spatial productivity and water use efficiency of hydroponic and soil-based Lactuca sativa L. production systems. Materials and methods. The experiment was conducted at the Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Mendoza Research Station, Luján de Cuyo, Argentina, from August to October 2025. Four production systems were compared: indoor hydroponic vertical farming with artificial lighting (A), greenhouse hydroponic vertical farming with supplemental artificial lighting (B), conventional horizontal hydroponic cultivation in a greenhouse without artificial lighting (C), and soil-based cultivation in a greenhouse (D). Each system consisted of three independent experimental units, and the data were analyzed using a linear mixed-effects model. Yield, water consumption, water productivity, water consumption per unit of horizontal area, and lettuce nutritional status were evaluated. Results. Vertical systems (A and B) achieved higher yields per unit of horizontal area than C and D, while D produced greater individual plant biomass. System A showed the highest daily productivity and the lowest water consumption per production cycle. Hydroponic systems required significantly less water per plant and per cycle than D. For water consumption per unit of surface area, A showed the lowest value, B and C showed similar intermediate values, and D the highest. Foliar nutrient concentrations and chlorophyll index differed among systems. Conclusions. Vertical systems achieved greater spatial productivity, while hydroponic systems showed lower water consumption than soil-based cultivation.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Germán Darío Aguado, Gabriel Enrique Pisi, Jorge Esteban Perez Peña, Federico Sebastián De Biazi, Carla Vanina Dagatti, Ernesto Martín Uliarte (Autor/a)
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