Relation of Different Growing Media on Growth of Morning Glory Microgreens

Abstract

Microgreens are young green vegetables and are emerging specialty food products. They are packed with more phytonutrients and bioactive compounds such as vitamins, minerals, flavonoids and phenolic compounds than their mature greens. So, microgreens have become popular and highly demanded as a good choice for consumers who concern about their health. However, there are a few research papers on cultivation of microgreens, especially in morning glory microgreens. In this study, the growth of morning glory microgreens on different growing media was investigated. The experiment was conducted as a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three different growing media (coconut husk, burnt rice husk, and mixed soil (soil: coconut husk: burnt rice husk in the 1:1:1 ratio). One hundred morning glory seeds that were soaked in water for 8 hours were sown uniformly on a various growing media in plastic trays (10×14×6 cm). Microgreens were grown in the dark for germination for 2 days and then in light at room temperature for 8 days. Physiological characteristics were performed at every day after sowing. The results showed that types of growing media were related to germination and seedling weight and height of morning glory microgreens (R²>0.90). Application of mixed soil as a growing medium made the germination, seedling weight, seedling height and hypocotyl width higher than coconut husk and burnt rice husk, respectively. The mixed soil gave the highest germination (74.89%), seedling weight (431.52 mg/plant) and height (7.39 cm), and hypocotyl width (0.19 cm) at 7 days after sowing. Therefore, suitable selection of type of growing media proves more effective for the good growth and yield of morning glory microgreens. The mixed soil was the best growing media for the growth of morning glory microgreens.