MANAGEMENT OF LETTUCE CROPPING IRRIGATION IN DIFFERENT LIGHTING COLORS USING LED

• Grant number: 22/07206-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2023
• End date: March 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agricultural Engineering - Soil and Water Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Ferrari Putti
• Grantee: Livia Gabriele Dias Soares
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Engenharia. Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Tupã. Tupã , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The increase in lettuce production is becoming increasingly necessary as people want to acquire healthier eating habits, causing an increase in the demand for quantity and quality. However, this vegetable presents severe sensitivity to unfavorable climatic conditions, requiring a controlled environment for cultivation. Oxidative stress is a recurring problem in the production of vegetables due to the excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) caused by abiotic factors. For quality improvement, the indoor cultivation of lettuce is becoming more and more frequent in Brazil and the world. Greenhouses with higher technology have higher production quality, enabling efficient irrigation methods and artificial light supplementation. A tool that proves to be effective is the LED, as it emits low thermal radiation, not causing an increase in the internal temperature of the greenhouses, and can be implemented to control metabolic activity rates, helping the plant's defense mechanisms, delaying significant damage. . Therefore, the objective of this work will be to evaluate the irrigation management in the indoor cultivation of lettuce under different lighting conditions. The experiment will be carried out at Faculdade de Ciências e Engenharias, FCE/UNESP, using 3 levels of soil water content (40-50%, 60-70% and 80-90% CAS), 4 crop management (Indoor with White lighting, Indoor with Red lighting, Indoor with a combination of red and blue light, and conventional cultivation in a greenhouse [control]), thus totaling 12 treatments with 8 replications. Biometric, biochemical and physiological parameters of the plant will be evaluated to monitor the imposed stress.