**5. Conclusions**

A saline-nutrient solution may be used successfully in hydroponic-grown sea fennel plants to enhance raw product quality and post-harvest shelf-life. The product presents a high concentration of flavonoids, a good sensory quality, and a reduction of microbial load. Consequently, it could be said that the saline treatment can be useful for the hydroponic culture of sea fennel obtaining a product with good marketability as an emerging crop for fresh consumption.

Nonetheless, variability in yields and chemical composition with geographical origins, harvesting and post-harvesting conditions needs to be explored and better understood prior to large-scale commercialisation for both farmers and consumers.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, M.d.C.M.-B., C.E.-G. and J.A.F. (Juan A. Fernández); methodology, A.G., F.A. and J.A.F. (José A. Franco); formal analysis, A.S.; investigation, A.G., F.A. and P.A.G.; resources, A.S. and J.A.F. (Juan A. Fernández); data curation, A.G. and P.A.G.; writing—original draft preparation, F.A., A.G., P.A.G., M.d.C.M.-B. and J.A.F. (Juan A. Fernández); writing—review and editing C.E.-G., J.A.F. (José A. Franco), P.A.G., A.S., M.d.C.M.-B. and J.A.F. (Juan A. Fernández); supervision, J.A.F. (José A. Franco), C.E.-G., P.A.G. and M.d.C.M.-B.; funding acquisition, J.A.F. (Juan A. Fernández). All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Not applicable.

**Acknowledgments:** The elaboration of the manuscript was supported by a gran<sup>t</sup> from the University of Bari Aldo Moro (reference Premio di Studio GLOBAL THESIS) awarded to Fabio Amoruso.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
