STUDIES ON PRODUCTION OF VEGETABLES IN SUBSTITUTE MEDIA IN URBAN AGRICULTURE

Abstract

This study was carried out during 2011, 2012 and 2013 for producing vegetable sprouts and vegetable crops using different growing media in wooden plot. The wooden plot located in the kitchen experimental farm module in the vegetables experimental farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, to develop a rapid and simple method that could be used in homes or developed for commercial production of sprouts with increased emphasis on the nutritive value of foods and especially the so-called fresh natural foods, this study was also designed to determine the nutritive value of turnip, radish and onion sprouts produced in four growing media. Green sprouts could be of value as a fresh low cost vegetable grown in the kitchen garden in any seasons and could contribute vitamins and other nutrients to the diet. The second purpose to produce vegetable crops in four growing media in the winter season (Turnip, red radish and green onion) and followed by jews mallow and snap bean crop in the summer season and determine the nutritional value of plants. And also, to increase the flat green urban areas of the dampening impact on the climate and reduce air temperatures. The study includes three parts with the following obtained summary results:

Part one: Vegetables sprout production For the production of green sprouts of turnip, red radish and onion, 1 m2 wooden plot filled with different growing media was used. To study the effect of growing media on the green sprouts of turnip, red radish and onion, separate experiments with four growing media (treatments) were adopts (Clay, clay + vermiculate 1:1 v/v +10% compost, sand + vermiculate 1:1 v/v + 10% compost and peatmose + vermiculate 1:1 v/v). The experiment was set in completely randomized block design with three replicates. Sprouts were harvested at fully expanded green cotyledons stage (7 days for turnip and 8 days for red radish from seed sowing, while onion bud sprouts were harvested 3 weeks after sets sowing). The obtained results could be summarized as follows:

A. Turnip sprouts 1. Turnip sprouts grown in peatmoss + vermiculite medium showed the longest hypocotyle length, while clay medium recoded the best cotyledon dimensions; sprout fresh weight and fresh yield of sprouts per m2 and per unit volume of seeds (1.0g) of turnip seeds sprouts.