Abishkar Regmi , Dario Rueda-Kunz , He Liu , Jonah Trevino , Shivani Kathi, and Catherine Simpson
Abstract
With depleting sources of fresh water, approaches must be taken to reduce the use of water in agricultural systems. Along with reduced usage,
research should focus on using resources more efficiently. Hydroponic production systems offer higher resource use efficiency, such as water and
fertilizer, compared to traditional agriculture systems. Notably, water usage can be reduced by more than 90% and fertilizer by 60% depending
upon the system and crop. This review focuses on water and nutrient use efficiency of different crops in greenhouse production systems to
further elucidate the current accomplishments and future needs in this research area. This is important because water and nutrient use efficiency
is highly dependent upon multiple factors like type of crop, cultivars, environment, type of system used, nutrient concentration and form, flow
rate of water, water depth, location, etc. Herein, nutrient film technique (NFT), deep-water culture, aeroponics, drip, and other systems were
compared for different water and nutrient use efficiencies. Because different crops were used in these studies, direct comparison was limited, but
we found that crop type and cultivars, NFT channel depth, and fertilization rate were among the most influential factors affecting nutrient use
efficiency in hydroponic systems. Surprisingly, water use efficiency in aeroponic systems was greater when more nozzles were used. Aeroponic
systems also showed greater water use efficiency when compared to NFT systems. Overall, this review highlights the resource use efficiency of
different vegetable crops in hydroponic production systems and highlights opportunities for future research.
Read the entire article at Technology in Horticulture