Abstract:
Leafy vegetables are an essential component of a balanced diet due to their rich nutritional
profile. However, producing high-quality leafy vegetables without the use of harmful
agrochemicals remains a significant challenge in sustainable agriculture. In hydroponic systems,
nutrient solutions like Albert’s solution offer controlled growth, but are costly and rely on non
organic inputs, limiting their compatibility with organic cultivation. This study evaluated the
effectiveness of different organic nutrient solutions on the growth and yield of leafy vegetables
(water spinach and mint) in a non-circulating hydroponic system. The experiment was conducted
in a Completely Randomized Design with six treatments: Albert’s solution (T1, control), Fish tonic
(T2), Seaweed nutrient solution (T3), Jeewamruta (T4), Vermiwash (T5), and Vegetable waste
nutrient solution (T6), each with four replicates. Growth parameters (plant height, number of
leaves and branches, root length), quality parameter (chlorophyll content), and yield parameter
(fresh weight of shoot) were recorded and analyzed using ANOVA in SAS 9.1. Among the
treatments, both Albert’s solution and Jeewamruta showed statistically similar and superior
performance in water spinach for key growth parameters, except root length and overall biomass
accumulation. Vermiwash resulted in the longest root length. In case of mint, Albert’s solution
and Vegetable waste nutrient solution showed similarly high values for key growth parameters
except root length and overall biomass accumulation, with no significant differences between
them. Again, Vermiwash recorded the longest root length in mint. In water spinach, Jeewamruta
showed comparable effectiveness to Albert’s solution. Similarly, the Vegetable waste nutrient
solution proved equally effective as Albert’s solution in enhancing growth performance in mint.
These findings indicate that Jeewamruta and Vegetable waste nutrient solution can be suggested
as cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly alternatives to synthetic hydroponic
nutrient solutions, particularly for the cultivation of water spinach and mint.
