2019 ASHS Annual Conference

Herbs are a usual crop grown in hydroponic systems. However, little is documented about the effect of this type of cultivation on the quantity and quality of the materials produced, in comparison to traditional soil mediums. Sage (Salvia officinalis) is a popular culinary herb which also has claimed medicinal properties. The objective of the presented study was to test the performance of hydroponically-grown sage plants versus soil-grown specimens in the same environmental conditions. Test subjects were cultivated for 25 weeks in a greenhouse in 10 cm pots with potting medium as control and in 10 cm cups in a hydroponic tube setup as the experimental treatment. Three individuals were planted in each pot/cup. Environmental conditions were identical and fertilizers were applied consistently for both treatments. Yield was measured at harvest per pot/cup with a total of 24 replicates from each treatment. Essential oils were extracted from bulk samples by hydrodistillation and analyzed for quantity and quality. The hydroponic treatment yielded significantly more aerial biomass than the soil treatment. Per dry basis, the amount of essential oil was not affected by treatment. In a similar respect, the composition of active constituents in the essential oils did not significantly differ between treatments. The study showed that hydroponically-grown sage performed well under this type of cultivation and the quality of active ingredients in the herb was not compromised.