A Food Waste-Derived Organic Liquid Fertiliser for Sustainable Hydroponic Cultivation of Lettuce, Cucumber and Cherry Tomato

Abstract

We previously reported a sustainable food waste management approach to produce an acceptable organic liquid fertiliser for recycling food waste called “FoodLift.” This study follows our previous work to evaluate the macronutrients and cation concentrations in harvested structural parts of lettuce, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes produced using food waste-derived liquid fertiliser (FoodLift) and compare them against commercial liquid fertiliser (CLF) under hydroponic conditions. N and P concentrations in the structural parts of lettuce and the fruit and plant structural parts of cucumber appear to be similar between FoodLift and CLF (p > 0.05), with significantly different N concentrations in the various parts of cherry tomato plants (p < 0.05). For lettuce, N and P content varied from 50 to 260 g/kg and 11 to 88 g/kg, respectively. For cucumber and cherry tomato plants, N and P concentrations ranged from 1 to 36 g/kg and 4 to 33 g/kg, respectively. FoodLift was not effective as a nutrient source for growing cherry tomatoes. Moreover, the cation (K, Ca, and Mg) concentrations appear to significantly differ between FoodLift and CLF grown plants (p < 0.05). For example, for cucumber, Ca content varied from 2 to 18 g/kg for FoodLift grown plants while Ca in CLF-grown cucumber plants ranged from 2 to 28 g/kg. Overall, as suggested in our previous work, FoodLift has the potential to replace CLF in hydroponic systems for lettuce and cucumber. This will lead to sustainable food production, recycling of food waste to produce liquid fertiliser, and will promote a circular economy in nutrient management.