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Assessing plant growth, water quality and economic effects from application of a plant-based aquafeed in a recirculating aquaponic system

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Abstract

Aquaponics, the integrated production of fish and hydroponic crops in a recirculating system, is an intensive cultivation method in which metabolic fish wastes fertilize plants. This study compares the effects of two aquafeeds on Red amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) productivity and on water quality parameters under cultivation of Blue tilapia (Oreochromis aureus), in three aquaponic replicate units per treatment over a 60-day experimental trial. The fishmeal-based control feed contains higher crude protein (40 %) and phosphorus (1.12 %) than the plant-based alternative feed (32 % and 0.40 %, respectively). The alternative feed resulted in a significantly higher amaranth crop yield (p < 0.05), with significantly lower concentrations of nitrate-N (NO3-N) and total dissolved solids (TDS) in the aquaponic culture water over the course of the experiment. Orthophosphate (PO4-P), total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), pH and dissolved oxygen (DO) levels were not significantly different between the control and alternative aquafeed treatments. Economic analysis revealed that improved plant productivity from the plant-based, lower-protein aquafeed may potentially increase total aquaponic farm revenue despite reduced fish production.

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Abbreviations

ANCOVA:

Analysis of covariance

DO:

Dissolved oxygen

EC:

Electrical conductivity

NO2-N:

Nitrite nitrogen

NO3-N:

Nitrate nitrogen

PO4-P:

Orthophosphate phosphorus

rANOVA:

Repeated-measures analysis of variance

TAN:

Total ammonia nitrogen

TDS:

Total dissolved solids

UVI:

University of the Virgin Islands

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Acknowledgments

We are thankful to the USDA for providing funding support through NIFA’s Hispanic Serving Institutions Higher Education Grant # 2011-38422-30804. We would also like to thank undergraduate student Carlos Pulido for his assistance in maintaining the aquaponic units and collecting data, and Mr. Manny Garcia at Hydroponics Today for his donation of tilapia fingerlings for the study.

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Correspondence to Mahadev G. Bhat.

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Medina, M., Jayachandran, K., Bhat, M.G. et al. Assessing plant growth, water quality and economic effects from application of a plant-based aquafeed in a recirculating aquaponic system. Aquacult Int 24, 415–427 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-015-9934-3

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