Producing garden cress (Lepidium sativum L.) for the fresh-cut chain using a soilless culture system

A soilless culture system (SCS) can improve the quality of raw material at harvest and enhance post-harvest shelf-life in many fresh-cut vegetables. Fresh-cut produce has been targeted to satisfy the increasing demand for convenience products for modern society. Recently, there has been growing interest to introduce garden cress into the fresh-cut supply chain. A standardised growing system is required to obtain suitable fresh-cut raw material in terms of marketable stage, low nitrate content, and long shelf-life. Four experiments were carried out to investigate a floating SCS and post-harvest management to produce marketable garden cress and to preserve its freshness during shelf-life. Various total N levels (6, 8, 12, or 16 mM),NO3 –-N:NH4 +-N ratios (25:75, 50:50, 75:25, or 40:60) in the growing nutrient solution, storage temperatures (4°C, 8°C, or 16°C), and five polypropylene (PP) films used during shelf-life, were tested. The research showed that garden cress is suitable for production in a SCS and that this technique leads to greater commercial production than soil culture, reaching > 600 g m–2 in 14 d, and > 4,700 g m–2 in 34 d. Total N at 12 mM was too high to obtain leaves with an acceptable nitrate content (< 2,500 mg kg–1 FW). Polypropylene film and storage temperature significantly influenced the loss of FW during shelf-life; however, this loss was always below 2%. The optimal storage temperature to maintain freshness was 4°C, while the five PP films tested showed inconsistent results.