README file Dataset title: “Experimental dataset on Lactuca sativa yield and water use efficiency: simplified soilless vs. soil-based systems in Colombia” Dataset Author: Gaia Moretti (University of Bologna), ORCID 0009-0003-8767-9270 Dataset Contributors: Vito Aurelio Cerasola (University of Bologna), ORCID 0000-0002-8565-8236; Nicola Michelon (University of Bologna), ORCID 0000-0001-6240-9520; Giuseppina Pennisi (University of Bologna), ORCID 0000-0001-9377-4811; Michael López Cepeda (SENA,Regional Agricultural Center, Colombia); Miguel Solarte (SENA,Regional Agricultural Center, Colombia); Francesco Orsini (University of Bologna), ORCID 0000-0001-6956-7054; Giorgio Gianquinto (University of Bologna), ORCID 0000-0002-6548-5526 Dataset Contact Person: Gaia Moretti (University of Bologna), ORCID 0009-0003-8767-9270, gaia.moretti6@unibo.it Publication year: 2025 Completion year: 2024 Dataset License: CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed Dataset Contents The data set consists of: • 1 quantitative data file saved in .csv format "Morettietal_AAHC24_Dataset.csv" • 1 README file saved in .rtf format "Morettietal2025_README.md" Data set Documentation Abstract This dataset explains a study conducted in Popayán, a city in Cauca region of southern Colombia, aiming a evaluate the effectiveness of a simplified soilless system for growing lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) compared to traditional soil-based cultivation. The purpose of the research came by an increasing pressure on land and water resources intensifies the need for innovative approaches, especially in regions struggling with unpredictable rainfall patterns, limited arable soil, as well as issues related to low-quality water and food scarcity. Simplified soilless cultivation systems (SSC) have emerged as a viable solution for sustainable fresh food production and climate change conditions. The soilless system "Garrafas PET," was built using locally available materials such as bamboo poles and recycled plastic bottles, making it an accessible and cost-effective solution. Different types of growing substrates were tested, including coconut fiber, peat, carbonized rice husk, and a combination of all three (1:1:1). The adoption of the SSC system significantly enhanced WUE compare than traditional soil cultivation. In particular, peat demonstrated a significant improvement in efficiency of water use followed by rice hulls, either alone or mixed with peat and coconut fiber which also performed well, while coconut fiber alone was less effective but still improved the use of water than soil-based cultivation. Regarding marketable yield, the results varied based on the type of substrate used. The SSC system with peat achieved similar productivity levels to traditional soil cultivation, showing that soilless methods can achieve or even enhance conventional techniques performance. The combination of rice hulls with other materials also resulted in favorable yields, while coconut fiber alone produced the lowest output. Overall, this research highlights the potential of simplified soilless cultivation as a sustainable farming solution. By reducing water consumption and adapting to different environmental conditions, SSC systems can contribute to more resilient food production in regions facing water shortages, poor soil quality, and unpredictable weather patterns. Content of the file File Morettietal_AAHC24_Dataset.csv contains one sheet where the agronomic variables are reported, indicating the substrate treatment in the first column, the replicate in the second, the plant position (numbered from 1 to 3) in the third, and the measured variables from the fourth column. File specifics The file is in .csv format and can be used on several software (excel, R, Python, Matlab). The .csv file has the following specifics: • Character set UTF-8 • Field delimiter « ; » (semicolon) Methodologies The experiment was realized between October and December 2024 (Popayan, Colombia) in the simplified hydroponic system and traditional cultivation system described in the abstract. An experiment of three-block experimental design three-times replicated was implemented, where 4 growing substrates were tested in combination with the plant position in the bottle line and compared with a soil-based trial on the same variety. The system design is composed by 20 lines of plastic bottles, each featuring 10 bottles (and each hosting 2 plants, for a total of 20 plants per line). Blocks were represented by the bottle lines, while replicates were represented by three plants harvested at 35 days after transplanting (DAT). The first and the last plant were not included in the data monitoring to mitigate the border effect. List of variables Parameter Description treatment Treatments with soil and growing media, including coconut coir (coconut), carbonized rice hulls (rice hulls), peat and a mix of the three substrates (mixed). replicate Three replicates for each analyzed sample, named “1”, “2”, “3” Leaves_num Total number of leaves counted in the sampled plant at the harvest Marketable_fresh_weight Weight of the plants classified as marketable at the harvest (grams per m-2) Leaf_area Total leaves area of plants (cm -2) SPAD SPAD value monitored with the SPAD (Konica Minolta). Adimensional WUE Water Use Efficiency (WUE) calculated as the grams of fresh marketable weight per Liter of water used. Notes The data are presented in the following publication: Moretti, G.; Michelon, N.; Cerasola, V. A.; Pennisi, G.; Cepeda, M. L.; Solarte, M. G.; Orsini, F.; Gianquinto, G., 2025. Enhancing water use efficiency (WUE) and yield in Lactuca sativa: a comparative study of simplified soilless cultivation (SSC) versus traditional soil-based systems in Colombia. Acta horticolturae. https://dx.doi.org/10.17660/actahortic.2025.1422.36