Respuesta del rendimiento y perfil bioquímico de lechuga ante las nanopartículas de hidroxiapatita y quitina

Abstract

Lettuce production faces challenges that require sustainable alternatives to improve productivity and crop quality. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of the combined application of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHAp) and a chitin-based biostimulant (CB) on yield, phytochemical compounds, and enzymatic activity of the crop. The experiment was structured under a completely randomized design,, evaluating two concentrations of nHAp (1 000 and 2 000 mg L-1) applied via seed imbibition and CB via foliar application, resulting in a total of five treatments including a control, with five replicates each. The results showed that treatment T3 (2,000 mg L-1 nHAp) maximized biomass production by 28.17%. Additionally, biochemical quality was improved by the 1 000 mg L-1 nHAp + CB treatment (T4), which recorded increases of 19.16% in total phenols and 15.27% in flavonoids compared to the control. Similarly, the 2 000 mg L-1 nHAp + CB treatment (T5) enhanced the L-ascorbic acid content, although it induced an antioxidant defense response mediated by the catalase enzyme. Applied individually, nHAps act as effective yield promoters, whereas their combination with chitin induces a state of eustress that favors biofortification.