Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp7 (2026): International Conference on Agricultural Sustainability

Growth and yield of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) on floating culture system with different substrate composition and number of wicks

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.14382
Submitted
4 March 2026
Published
02-09-2026

Abstract

During the flooding period, agricultural activities in freshwater swamp ecosystems are highly limited. Floating culture is an alternative cultivation system for lettuce production under flooded conditions. This study aimed to determine the effective substrate composition and number of wicks for improving the growth and yield of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in a floating culture system. The experiment was conducted at the Freshwater Swamp Field Laboratory, Sriwijaya University, South Sumatra, Indonesia. The study used a 2.0 m × 1.3 m bamboo raft supported by used mineral water gallons and was arranged in a factorial randomised block design (FRBD) with two factors. The first factor was substrate composition, consisting of M1 = soil, M2 = soil + cow manure + sand (4: 2: 1) and M3 = soil + cow manure + rice husk biochar (4: 2: 1). The second factor was the number of wicks, consisting of S2 = two wicks, S3 = three wicks and S4 = four wicks. Each treatment combination was replicated three times. The results showed that M3 produced the highest fresh leaf weight at 51.60 g and dry leaf weight at 6.13 g, while M1 produced the lowest fresh leaf weight at 10.02 g and dry leaf weight at 1.12 g. The use of four wicks (S4) resulted in the highest fresh leaf weight at 43.51 g and dry leaf weight at 4.68 g. The best treatment combination was M3S4, which produced the highest fresh leaf weight at 61.06 g, dry leaf weight at 7.32 g, fresh stem weight at 1.62 g, dry stem weight at 0.29 g and fresh root weight at 1.69 g. These findings indicate that the combination of soil, cow manure, rice husk biochar and four wicks can improve lettuce yield and may serve as a practical cultivation option for freshwater swamp areas during flooding periods.

References

  1. 1. Wandansari NR, Pramita Y. Potential for the utilization of swamplands to support agricultural development in border areas. Agriekstensia J Penelit Terap Bidang Pertanian. 2019;18:66–73. https://doi.org/10.34145/agriekstensia.v18i1.29
  2. 2. Gustiar F, Septiani D, Agustina H, Adriansyah F, Ramadhani F. Growth and yield of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) grown on different planting media volumes in a floating cultivation system. J Lahan Suboptimal. 2025;14(1):44–50. https://doi.org/10.36706/jlso.14.1.2025.721
  3. 3. Ria RP, Gustiar F, Ramadhani F, Zaman AK. Effect of fertilization methods on growth of Grand Rapids lettuce in floating cultivation systems. In: BIO Web Conf. 2025;197:02006. https://doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/202519702006
  4. 4. Susilawati S, Irmawati I, Harun MU, Ichwan B. Shallot cultivation in tropical climate ecosystems using floating and non-floating systems with different doses of cow manure. Adv Hortic Sci. 2024;38:25–34. https://doi.org/10.36253/ahsc-14940
  5. 5. Gustiar F, Susilawati S, Widjajanto DW, Ria RP, Muda SA, Setyawan LAP, et al. Drought stress and selective manure on the growth and yield of chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) in a tropical climate. Agron Res. 2025;23:1–16.
  6. 6. Nurmalasari AI, Supriyono S, Budiastuti MTS, Sulistyo TD, Nyoto S. Pemanfaatan jerami padi dan arang sekam sebagai pupuk organik dan media tanam dalam budidaya kedelai. Prima J Community Empowering Serv. 2021;5:102–9. https://doi.org/10.20961/prima.v5i2.44766
  7. 7. Balliu A, Zheng Y, Sallaku G, Fernández JA, Gruda NS, Tuzel Y. Environmental and cultivation factors affect the morphology, architecture and performance of root systems in soilless grown plants. Horticulturae. 2021;7:243. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7080243
  8. 8. Phogat VK, Tomar VS, Dahiya R. Soil physical properties. In: Soil science: an introduction. 2015. p. 135–71.
  9. 9. Adekiya AO, Ayeni JF, Olayanju A, Aremu C, Akpor OB, Olaniran AF, et al. Potentials of soilless substrates from biochar and rice husk as a replacement for cocopeat in Nigeria on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Res Crops. 2022;23:139–48. https://doi.org/10.31830/2348-7542.2022.020
  10. 10. Machfudz M, Basit A. Yield and nutritional quality of green leafy lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) under soilless culture system using various composition of growing media and vermicompost rates. Caraka Tani J Sustain Agric. 2021;36:201–12. https://doi.org/10.20961/carakatani.v36i2.46131
  11. 11. Ma B. Analysis of capillary flow in a parallel microchannel-based wick structure with circular and noncircular geometries. Langmuir. 2020;36:13485–97. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c02226
  12. 12. Sharma PK, Kumar S. Soil structure and plant growth. In: Soil physical environment and plant growth: evaluation and management. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2023. p. 125–54. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28057-3_5
  13. 13. Younis A, Ahsan M, Akram A, Lim KB, Zulfiqar F, Tariq U. Use of organic substrates in sustainable horticulture. In: Hasanuzzaman M, Hawrylak-Nowak B, Islam T, Fujita M, editors. Biostimulants for crop production and sustainable agriculture. 2022. p. 122–38. https://doi.org/10.1079/9781789248098.0009
  14. 14. Nurhidayati N, Ansari AS, Sholihah A, Chiangmai PN. Vermicompost and rice husk biochar interaction ameliorates nutrient uptake and yield of green lettuce under soilless culture. J Hortic Res. 2022;30:55–66. https://doi.org/10.2478/johr-2022-0018
  15. 15. de Araújo AG, Sims B, Desbiolles J, Bolonhezi D, Haque E, Jin H, et al. The status of mechanization in conservation agriculture systems. In: Advances in conservation agriculture. Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing; 2020. p. 427–96.
  16. 16. Lakitan B, Siaga E, Fadilah LN, Nurshanti DF, Widuri LI, Gustiar F, et al. Accurate and non-destructive estimation of palmate compound leaf area in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) based on morphological traits of its selected lobes. Int J Agric Technol. 2022;19(1):129–44.
  17. 17. Mosahrrof M, Hasma S, Uddin MK, Shamsuzzaman S, Mahmud MH, Islam MR, et al. Effects of rice husk biochar on nutrient uptake and yield of leafy vegetables: a review. J Survey Fish Sci. 2022;9:260–72.
  18. 18. Leghari SJ, Wahocho NA, Laghari GM, Hafeez Laghari A, Mustafa Bhabhan G, Hussain Talpur K, et al. Role of nitrogen for plant growth and development: a review. Adv Environ Biol. 2016;10:209–19.
  19. 19. Lyu H, Li Y, Wang Y, Wang P, Shang Y, Yang X, et al. Drive soil nitrogen transformation and improve crop nitrogen absorption and utilization—a review of green manure applications. Front Plant Sci. 2024;14:1305600. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1305600
  20. 20. Mohammed B, Bilooei SF, Dóczi R, Grove E, Railo S, Palme K, et al. Converging light, energy and hormonal signaling control meristem activity, leaf initiation, and growth. Plant Physiol. 2018;176:1365–81. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.17.01730
  21. 21. Bhatti AA, Haq S, Bhat RA. Actinomycetes benefaction role in soil and plant health. Microb Pathog. 2017;111:458–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micpath.2017.09.036
  22. 22. De Vivo M. Crucial role of asymmetric cell division in plant adaptation to hard and dry soils [doctoral thesis]. Rome: Sapienza University of Rome; 2025.
  23. 23. Sandhu N, Sethi M, Kumar A, Dang D, Singh J, Chhuneja P. Biochemical and genetic approaches improving nitrogen use efficiency in cereal crops: a review. Front Plant Sci. 2021;12:657629. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.657629
  24. 24. Abubakari AH, Atuah L, Banful BK. Growth and yield response of lettuce to irrigation and growth media from composted sawdust and rice husk. J Plant Nutr. 2018;41:221–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/01904167.2017.1384013

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.