Impact of soilless growing media on the biometric characteristics of spinach and fenugreek in an automated NFT hydroponic system

Abstract

Crop yield and quality is greatly enhanced by switching from traditional agriculture to controlled environment agriculture (CEA). In this study, two leafy vegetables, spinach (Spinacia oleracea) and fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum), as well as their roots, were grown under a fully automated Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) hydroponic structure using various growing media. The environmental parameters, biometric traits, quality attributes, and economic viability of these vegetables were assessed. The effectiveness of foam cubes, oasis cubes, a 1:1 mixture of cocopeat and vermicompost, and conventional soil media on an open field was tested in this randomized block design experiment. While biometric observations like plant height, leaf area, root length, and yield were documented, environmental parameters including temperature, relative humidity, and fertilizer solution properties were tracked. According to the results, plants grown in the NFT system with oasis cubes showed the highest values for every quality attribute that was assessed, greatly exceeding both the open-field control and other media. Economic analysis further showed that, in controlled environments, the NFT hydroponic system with appropriate growing material can be a viable and effective substitute for producing green vegetables.