Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.5513/JCEA01/20.3.2223
Cultivation of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss W.) in the aquaponic recirculation system
Katya Velichkova
orcid.org/0000-0003-2789-1037
; Department of Biology and Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Trakia University, Students campus, 6014 Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
Ivaylo Sirakov
; Department of Biology and Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Trakia University, Students campus, 6014 Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
Stefka Stoyanova
; Department of Biology and Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Trakia University, Students campus, 6014 Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
Yordan Staykov
; Department of Biology and Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Trakia University, Students campus, 6014 Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
Abstract
Aquaponics is combined growing fish and plants in a recalculating system. Therefore, it is very important to achieve optimal conditions for their cultivation. The purpose of this study was to trace the influence of the water used by the cultivated fish on the biomass of the lettuce in the aquaponic system. In this connection, two types of hydroponic sections were built and integrated into an existing recirculation aquaculture system. The hydrochemical parameters were measured during the trial. The duration of experiment was 60 days. Forty specimens from the fish species rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) with an average weight of 13.4 g in good health condition were growing of the each of tanks of the aquaponic system. Sixteen lettuce seedlings were planted on the hydroponic section filled with light weight expanded clay aggregate (LECA) and the other sixteen plants were planted on the floating raft hydroponic section. At the end of the trial the fresh weight of the lettuce plants was measured. The productivity of lettuce plants is highly dependent on the type of plant growing medium and the fish biomass. A better removal capacity in ammonium, nitrate and ortho-phosphate were observed in the LECA section compared with the cleaning capacity in the raft section as a part of experimental aquaponics system.
Keywords
aquaponics; deep water culture; hydrochemical parameters; lettuce; rainbow trout
Hrčak ID:
225159
URI
Publication date:
10.9.2019.
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