New ‘solutions’ for floating cultivation system of ready-to-eat salad: A review

•The feasibility of soilless system for cultivation of ready-to-eat vegetables is presented.•Balanced nutrients ratio can help to increase the yield and reduce the accumulation of nitrate.•The addition of beneficial elements for plants can be useful for biofortification of vegetables.•Temperature control can ensure constant yield and preserve quality of the product.•Genetic and agronomic tools for designing high-quality vegetables are becoming available.

Soilless cultivation systems represent an alternative to traditional agriculture, as they offer the possibility to reduce water use and to design nutrient formulations of the hydroponic solutions in order to maximize yield and quality of the products. Reduction in accumulation of undesired compounds, like e.g. nitrate, and enhanced nutritional value for human consumption, like e.g. Se-rich compounds, could be reasonably achieved. These aspects, together with the extension of the shelf life, would increase the market value of ready-to-cut vegetables. This review discusses how recent advances in understanding the role of plant nutrients and their interactions and the management of nutrient solution composition, including the addition of non-essential elements, micronutrients’ biofortification, biostimulants, together with the control of some crucial environmental conditions, like temperature, can help accomplishing this task.