Designing, fabrication and evaluation of a small-scale vertical hydroponic system to produce leafy vegetables

Fathidarehnijeh, Ethan (2024) Designing, fabrication and evaluation of a small-scale vertical hydroponic system to produce leafy vegetables. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The agricultural productivity in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) faces many challenges, including severe weather conditions, short growing seasons, and poor soil conditions. To address these challenges in NL, researchers should explore innovative methods like hydroponic farming to improve local food production. This study was conducted to design, fabricate, and evaluate a household hydroponic system capable of producing year-round leafy vegetables. A vertical hydroponic system was designed, fabricated and tested along with two other systems including 1) a vertical drip hydroponic system (G-DNA), 2) a vertical wick hydroponic system (C-Tree), and 3) a horizontal deep water culture (DWC) system as the control, under two growth conditions (a grow tent experiment and an experiment without a grow tent). The growth of spinach, water use efficiency (WUE) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in three systems were tested. Results showed that the G-DNA system produced significantly higher spinach yield and outperformed the C-Tree hydroponic system. While G-DNA and C-Tree hydroponic systems had no significant effect on WUE, compared to the DWC system which demonstrated nearly twice the WUE. The G-DNA system exhibited the highest NUE in both environmental conditions, suggesting that spinach in the G-DNA system could absorb more nitrogen from the nutrient solution and yield more with the same amount of absorbed nitrogen compared to DWC and C-Tree systems. These findings indicate that the G-DNA system holds greater potential for improved NUE, and higher spinach yield compared to the C-Tree system. However, the G-DNA and C-Tree systems had no significant effect on WUE.

Item Type: Thesis (Masters)
URI: http://research.library.mun.ca/id/eprint/16425
Item ID: 16425
Additional Information: Includes bibliographical references
Keywords: hydroponic, water use efficiency, nitrogen use efficiency, vertical gardening, indoor farming
Department(s): Grenfell Campus > School of Science and the Environment > Boreal Ecosystems and Agricultural Sciences
Date: April 2024
Date Type: Submission
Library of Congress Subject Heading: Vertical gardening--Newfoundland and Labrador; Hydroponics; Vegetable gardening--Newfoundland and Labrador; Agricultural productivity--Newfoundland and Labrador; Spinach--Growth; Water efficiency

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