I am trying to grow cauliflower on perlite substrate in a close hydroponic system. In literature, I have not been able to find any suggestion for this species regarding the optimal nutrient concentration to provide through the fertigation system. Any suggestion is highly appreciated. Thanks
Mr. Tempesta,
Though it is currently not known what is the optimal ratio of mineral nutrients for cauliflower, there are several formulation/recipes that will work well enough for good growth and consistent research; some of these are attached in the pdf file below. The attached document also states that crops such as broccoli and cabbage are moderately sensitive to salt and can therefore be grown at an E.C. (or concentration) of 3.0. Choose a recipe based on the known nutritional requirements of cauliflower and alter it in a minor way if appropriate. Your research on hydroponic production of cauliflower will be novel, trust me, so you will not find many directly related sources, but you can build on remotely related research and fill in the gaps of knowledge with pioneering work.
Best of luck with you work!
Dear Mr. Chidac,
Thank you so much for the answer and suggestions.
Actually, it is what I am going to do, build up a recipe for cauliflower since it does not seem to be such a deeply studied subject.
Thanks for the pdf, appreciated.
Kind regards
Ciao Marco
as Dr. Chidac mentioned, probably no optimal nutrient solution has been defined yet for cauliflower.. The sources that Dr. Chidac suggested are good. I can add that in general the nutrient solutions normally used in soilless crops have always an excess of nutrients, and especially if you want to work with a closed cycle it is good to use lower concentrations of nutrients. For instance an Hoagland solution will be good in open cycle but I would reduce the concentration of nutrient for the closed cycle management. An aspect you should consider is also that the optimal nutrient solution will be different for different irrigatio/fertigation systems. For instance, If you are working in drip or in subirrigation, or in floating, the concentration of nutrient solution should be different. If you use a subirrigation system usually it is easier to work with a closed cycle management, because roots will develop in the bottom part of the pot and the nutrient in excess will accumulate in the top part. Also you should consider the specific weather conditions and the season, the nutrient solution should bslightly different if you are growing your crop over the spring-summer instead of the fall-winter season, because the crop transpiration rate is different. I have experience with different species of arugula and in general Brassicas require a good level of nitrogen, but too much nitrogen will result in luxury consumption and nitrate accumulation. Moreover if you are interested to obtain a good level of glucosinolates you should provide a good level of sulphate. I hope these information are helpful. Good luck with your experiment!
Ciao Francesco,
Thanks for your tips, they will be extremely useful. I am actually using a drip fertigation system in a closed cycle. Do you think a recipe for friarelli can satisfy the cauliflower requirement as well?
Thank you for your time
Regards
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