Investigation of the possibilities to grow edible nasturtium flowers in hydroponic culture

The nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) is an ornamental plant with showy flowers widely used in park and gardens and its flowers are also edible. Because the flowers are sensitive organs, it is not possible to wash them in high quality. Therefore, instead of traditional farming; hydroponic culture, which provides the opportunity to harvest and obtain clean products in a short time, seems to be an alternative cultivation method. There are not enough studies on the cultivation of edible flowers, harvest and post-harvest. The aim of this study is to investigate the cultivation possibilities of it in hydroponic culture. In this context, 200-liter tanks containing half (H1), full (H2) and double (H3) hoagland nutrient solution were used in a glass greenhouse with a hydroponic floating system at Akdeniz University, and nasturtium seedlings were planted in pots in styrofoam blocks with 10 plants in each tank. The study was established in three replications and the effects of different doses of hoagland solution on some growth parameters, SPAD value, TSS, chlorophyll, vitamin C, total anthocyanin and phenolic substance amounts, antioxidant activity, flower and leaf color content, macro and micronutrient content were determined. Results; It showed that the H2 nutrient solution provided the highest values in many growth parameters and since there was no statistically significant difference between the nutrient solutions in terms of flower yield, the H2 solution showed a good result in terms of this feature too. However, the best result in terms of earliness was obtained from the H1 (36 days) solution. It was determined that there was variation among the nutrient solutions in terms of TSS, chlorophyll, vitamin C amounts, and bioactive components and nutrient contents, but the H2 solution gave good responses to most of them. The full hoagland nutrient solution can be used to grow edible nasturtium with good quality, clean, high flower yield and good properties in terms of bioactive components and nutrient contents.