Effects of seeding density and cultivar on productivity of baby spinach grown hydroponically in deep water culture systems
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Three spinach cultivars, Carmel, Space, and Seaside (F1), were evaluated in regards to their suitability for Deep Water Culture (DWC) hydroponic production according to the procedure presented in Cornell Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Baby Spinach Handbook. Carmel consistently had the highest sprout count and produced the highest fresh weight (FW) among the three cultivars. Space performed moderately well; more data is needed for statistical robustness and verification under more typical higher-light conditions. With respect to Carmel, seeding fewer cells, but at a higher reduced sprouting rate and yield, but not severely. For all three cultivars, pericarps (seed coats getting stuck on cotyledons time of harvest) found in manually harvested baby spinach of marketable size were rare.