Undergraduate Sustainable Learning: Effects of Sustainable Soilless Media on Production and Sensory Evaluation of Cucumbers, Basil, Parsley, and Lettuce

Neil O. Anderson, Joey Annis, Mark Buchholz, Jared Cutting, Eric Heuring, Emily Jankila, Megan McCrumb, Nicole Nelson, Myra Pehoski, Karl Piepho, Valerie Price and Victoria Russell
Additional contact information
Neil O. Anderson: Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, 1970 Folwell Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Joey Annis: Environmental Horticulture Major, Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, 1970 Folwell Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Mark Buchholz: Environmental Horticulture Major, Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, 1970 Folwell Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Jared Cutting: Environmental Horticulture Major, Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, 1970 Folwell Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Eric Heuring: Environmental Horticulture Major, Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, 1970 Folwell Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Emily Jankila: Environmental Horticulture Major, Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, 1970 Folwell Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Megan McCrumb: Environmental Horticulture Major, Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, 1970 Folwell Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Nicole Nelson: Environmental Horticulture Major, Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, 1970 Folwell Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Myra Pehoski: Environmental Horticulture Major, Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, 1970 Folwell Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Karl Piepho: Environmental Horticulture Major, Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, 1970 Folwell Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Valerie Price: Environmental Horticulture Major, Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, 1970 Folwell Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
Victoria Russell: Environmental Horticulture Major, Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, 1970 Folwell Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA

Sustainability, 2011, vol. 3, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: Modern greenhouse production has been ~100% reliant on fossil fuels for all inputs (glazing, heating, fertilization, lighting, post-harvest). Recent innovations may reduce fossil fuel dependence but their effectiveness may not be thoroughly tested. To promote education in sustainable production, undergraduate students in Greenhouse Management class (Hort 3002W; University of Minnesota) tested the effectiveness of two organic or ‘sustainable’ soilless media (Sunshine Natural and Organic Growing Mix, Sungro Metro-Mix Special Blend) with a control (Sunshine LC8 Professional) for crop production (height, leaf/flower number, yield) and sensory evaluations (appearance, texture, taste, purchase) of cucumbers (‘Big Burpless Hybrid’, ‘Sweet Burpless Hybrid’), basil (‘Opal Purple’, ‘Redleaf’), parsley (‘Green River’, ‘Extra Curled Dwarf’, ‘Hamburg’), and lettuce (Flying Saucer ‘Green’, ‘Red’). Significant differences between sustainable vs. control soils occurred for plant growth, depending on vegetative or reproductive traits, crops, and cultivars. These differences occasionally disappeared for sensory evaluation of edible components. In most crops, however, cultivars were highly significant factors. Undergraduate research can be used to provide directionality for future vegetable and herb plant breeding to focus on creating cultivars with increased yield and high consumer acceptance when grown in sustainable greenhouse soilless mixes.

Keywords: sustainability; horticultural crop production; organic soilless media; sensory evaluation; plant breeding (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/3/9/1381/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/3/9/1381/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:3:y:2011:i:9:p:1381-1398:d:13760

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().