Stomatal behavior supporting growth and yield of various vegetables by various sources of hydroponic nutrient

Agrotechnology Departement, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Banyumas, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: saparso@unsoed.ac.id

Abstract

Nutrients in NFT hydroponic are very crucial because plant roots grow in a shallow layer circulating water, nutrients and oxygen for plants. Commonly, the nutrient used in hydroponic is AB mix. Compound fertilizers contain nutrients needed by plants, but until now these fertilizers have not been used as a solution for hydroponic cultivation. From an economic perspective, compound fertilizer may be cheaper than using AB mix fertilizer. This research aims was to show the influence of various hydroponic nutrient sources on stomatal behavior that affects growth and yield of various vegetables. The design used was a split plot design. The main-plot was the type of nutrient used in the NFT hydroponic system, namely AB mix, NPK 15:15:15, and Hyponex. The sub-plot are plants used in the hydroponic cultivation of the NFT system, kangkong, lettuce, and pak choy. The implementation of this research is that compound fertilizer can be used as an alternative type of solution for cultivation in NFT hydroponics. The variables observed in this study are stomatal density, stomatal openings, plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, fresh plant weight, and leaf greenness. The type of hydroponic nutrients causes differences in stomatal behavior in the form of stomatal density and stomatal openings in the three types of vegetables. Meanwhile, stomatal behavior in the form of stomata density affects plant height, number of leaves, and leaf area. While stomatal behavior in the form of stomata openings affects plant height and number of leaves.