Performance of Aquaculture Effluent for Tomato Production in Outdoor Raised Beds

Pattillo, D. Allen; Foshee, Wheeler G.; Blythe, Eugene K.; Pickens, Jeremy M.; Wells, Daniel E.; Monday, Tyler A.; Hanson, Terrill R.

doi:10.21273/horttech04655-20

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…In a decoupled system, aquaculture and hydroponic components can be separated, or decoupled, allowing for independent management of system parameters to optimize production in both components [37]. Strategies for decoupling include multi-loop recirculating systems [27,38] and drain-to-waste irrigation systems [39,40]. Additional strategies like drip irrigation of field crops using aquaponic effluent, characterized as 'aquaponic farming', may prove useful to farmers especially during the growing season [39,41].…”

Section: Coupling Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Strategies for decoupling include multi-loop recirculating systems [27,38] and drain-to-waste irrigation systems [39,40]. Additional strategies like drip irrigation of field crops using aquaponic effluent, characterized as 'aquaponic farming', may prove useful to farmers especially during the growing season [39,41]. With additional research and acceptance, more growers may shift towards the decoupled design because it offers greater flexibility and control [42].…”

Section: Coupling Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Vertical production units, while space efficient, tend to have similar clogging and pump failure challenges [1]. Drip irrigation systems like Dutch buckets provide a modular production solution for vining crops like tomatoes [40] and cucumbers [49] and can also be adapted for outdoor soil crop production [39].…”

Section: Horticulture Unitmentioning

confidence: 99%

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System design and production practices of aquaponic stakeholders

et al. 2022

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Aquaponics is an agricultural practice incorporating aquaculture and hydroponic principles. This study assesses the current system design and production practices of the aquaponic industry, compares these metrics by stakeholder group, identifies trends, and provides recommendations for future development. An electronic survey of aquaponic stakeholders was conducted from December 2019 to June 2020 targeting hobbyists, producers, and educators from various aquaponic-focused professional associations, email and social media groups. Of 378 total responses, 84% came from the United States and were clustered in plant hardiness zones five to nine. Aquaponic systems were commonly homemade/do-it-yourself (DIY), many of which incorporated commercially available (turn-key) technology. Most growers used coupled systems that integrated recirculating aquaculture systems and either deep-water culture (DWC) or media bed hydroponic units. Common plant lighting sources were sunlight and light emitting diode (LED). Water sources were typically municipal or wells. Personal labor input was typically less than 20 hrs/wk. Funding sources were primarily personal funds, followed by government grants, and private investor funds. System sizes varied greatly, but the median area was 50 to 500 ft2 for hobbyists and educators and 500 to 3,000 ft2 for producers. Respondents commonly sold vegetable produce, training and education, food fish, and microgreens. Tilapia and ornamental fish were commonly grown, with 16 other species reported. Common crops were lettuce, leafy greens, basil, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs with many additional lesser-grown crops reported, including cannabis. Overall, the industry still growing, with a large portion of stakeholders having less than two years of experience. However, veteran growers have remained in operation, particularly in the producer and educator groups. The survey results suggest a shift away from outdoor systems, media beds, tomatoes, ornamental fish, and perch production, and a shift toward decoupled systems, DWC, drip irrigation, and wicking beds, larger system area, leafy greens, and trout/salmon production compared to previous industry surveys. The reduced diversity of plant species grown suggest some level of crop standardization. Commercial producers tended to sell more types of products than other stakeholders, suggesting that diversification of offerings may be key to profitability. The combined production area specified by respondents indicates the industry has grown substantially in recent years. Finally, the presence of bank loan-funded operations suggests increased knowledge and comfort with aquaponics among lenders.

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Section: Coupling Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Coupling Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

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System design and production practices of aquaponic stakeholders

et al. 2022

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“…Leafy vegetables and herbs have been chosen primarily due to their short growing period and low nutrient requirements in contrast to fruity plants [32]. Mainly tomatoes have been cultivated aquaponically in the NFT subsystem [33], perlite pots [39], raised beds [40], and DWC [31,41]. However, advanced aquaponic research needs to focus on fruit-bearing crops, and until now, minimal scientific articles have cited this concept [32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrients Use Efficiency in Coupled and Decoupled Aquaponic Systems

Aslanidou,

Elvanidi,

Mourantian

et al. 2023

Horticulturae

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Aquaponics is currently undergoing a transformation into an intensive food production system. The initially applied systems focused on small-scale, fish-centric coupled (CAP, the aquaculture, and the hydroponic units are arranged in a single loop, and the water flows continuously from the fish tanks to the plant unit and back) aquaponics. More recently, the primary area of research interest has shifted toward larger-scale, plant-centric decoupled (aquaculture and hydroponics units are arranged in a multi-loop setup as separate functional units that can be controlled independently) systems, aiming to achieve greater economic benefits and employ more environmentally friendly practices. The objective of this study was to address gaps in the expansion of decoupled larger-scale aquaponics and to provide a comprehensive understanding of the water and nutrient flow in the system. For this purpose, experiments were performed in a greenhouse on CAP and DCAP systems, while this study also included measurements in a pure hydroponic system (HP). This study presents an assessment of the water and nutrient flow in four different crops: basil; cucumber; parsley; and tomato, all co-cultivated with a tilapia aquaculture system. Significant nutrient deficiencies and imbalances were identified in the CAP solution, leading to pronounced impacts on nutrient assimilation, particularly for fruiting vegetables. However, the average nutrient use efficiency (NUE) for nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and calcium was found to be 42% higher in the CAP treatment compared to HP and DCAP treatments. The nutrient solution in the DCAP treatment did not exhibit differences in water quality parameters and nutrient efficiency when compared to HP, resulting in similar effects on nutrient assimilation. Nonetheless, it was observed that DCAP plants exhibited superior NUE compared to HP plants.

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“…The experiment reported here set out to test the efficacy of aquaculture effluent as a fertiliser in a Martian simulant and a Martian analogue. The viability of freshwater aquaculture effluent as fertiliser has been demonstrated for a wide variety of food crops grown in terrestrial soils, including wheat (Al-Jaloud et al,, 1993), barley (Hussain and Al-Jaloud, 1998;Stevenson et al, 2010), maize (Abdul-Rahman et al, 2011;Osaigbovo et al, 2010), sorghum (Kolozsvári et al, 2022), soybean (Abdelraouf, 2017), amaranth (Ojobor and Tobih, 2015), potato (Abdelraouf, 2017), common bean (Meso et al, 2014), tomato (Castro et al, 2006;Pattillo et al, 2020), pepper (Omotade et al, 2019;Palada et al, 2019), chicory (Lenz et al, 2021a), cabbage (Elsbaay and Darwesh, 2022), lettuce (Lenz et al, 2021b), radish (Abdul-Rahman et al, 2011, cucumber (Ndubuisi, 2019), onion (Abdelraouf et al, 2016;Abdelraouf, 2017), basil (Omeir et al, 2020), marjoram (Kimera et al, 2021a) and oregano (Kimera et al, 2021b). This paper discusses a small pilot/proof of concept study, to ascertain whether aquaponic fish effluent could be used in sterile regoliths to produce vegetables.…”

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confidence: 99%

Feeding Mars: A pilot study growing vegetables using aquaponic effluent fertiliser in simulant and analogue Martian regoliths

Kotzen,

Paradelo,

Fruscella

2024

Ecocycles

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The Feeding Mars study was devised as a small, pilot proof of concept study to research the potential for using aquaponic effluents as an additive to regoliths which on Mars and the Moon are devoid of organic material and thus lacking microbes which assist in the delivery of water and nutrients to the plants via their roots. This research investigates aquaponics as a way to potentially produce fish and vegetal products in regoliths on Mars and the Moon as well as in extreme environments on Earth. In order to settle on Mars, settlers will have to grow their own food in systems that are self-perpetuating, with little or no inputs being brought from Earth once these systems have been established. This means that nutrients from the fish water can be used to grow plants in the hydroponic parts of the aquaponic system but also potentially in the Martian regoliths which are treated with effluents taken from aquaponic systems. Once production is established additional nutrients can be sourced from the arisings and waste, both from the fish (that are processed and eaten) and the plants, which can be used as compost to turn the regoliths into soil. In order to have fish in space, there is also the need for the systems to be self-sustaining in the production of fish feed. The key outcomes of the project were that all the species grown (potatoes, tomatoes, dwarf beans, carrots, lettuce, spring onions, chives and basil) indicate the potential to be grown in regoliths with the addition of aquaponic effluents. A significant result was that on the whole the plants that were grown with the addition of aquaponic effluents were greener than those grown in the horticultural soil, indicating that the nutrient supply was adequate. However, a key lesson learned is that germination and thus development of the plants grown in the Mars simulant and analogue was slower than those grown in the horticultural soil. Thus, developing nutrients in the soil before planting is necessary as it is with agriculture and horticulture practices on Earth, where manuring/fertilization occurs before planting. The consequence of this research, and the envisaged research to follow is not only for extra-terrestrial environments. The Earth has its own hostile environments, characterised with regoliths and other unproductive soils, and aquaponic water and aquaponic wastes can readily be envisaged as providing solutions to growing nutritious food in areas where agriculture is not currently viable. The research was undertaken in an exhibition gallery setting at the University of Greenwich in order to encourage public interest and dialogue, which it did.

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Performance of Aquaculture Effluent for Tomato Production in Outdoor Raised Beds

Cited by 7 publications

References 27 publications

System design and production practices of aquaponic stakeholders

System design and production practices of aquaponic stakeholders

Nutrients Use Efficiency in Coupled and Decoupled Aquaponic Systems

Feeding Mars: A pilot study growing vegetables using aquaponic effluent fertiliser in simulant and analogue Martian regoliths

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