We are thrilled to announce that the lettuce growing trials for the NOMAD project have begun in Greece!
As part of the project’s goals, we are testing out materials from our process and evaluating their performance in a plant with a small growth cycle: lettuce!
In the pot trials, we have different groups of pots:
1. a control group with no fertilizer, 2. a commercial material group, 3. a digestate group using material from the Bisiritsas anaerobic digestion unit, 4. a compost group, and 5. a group using liquid materials coming out of the NOMAD truck.
This trial setup will be common in the four countries participating in the NOMAD project, and each country will use materials coming out of their biogas plants to test different feedstocks from the AD units. We will be able to test and examine their performance towards lettuce growth.
To evaluate the performance of the different materials used in the pot trials, our partners at the University of Florence have developed a set protocol that all groups will follow. This protocol consists of simple measurements such as the height, width, and length of each plant, as well as the chlorophyll content in the leaves and the number of leaves. These measurements are repeated once a week to study the growth of each plant.
Regarding the timeline of the pot trials: We have mixed the material with the soil and it matured for 3-4 weeks. Now we planted the lettuce and we will need around 2-3 months to complete the trials and have the results available for evaluation.
We are excited to see the results from the trials and to compare the performance of the different materials. Stay tuned for updates on the progress of the lettuce growing trials from the NOMAD project!