Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXIV, Issue 2
Written by Ștefan-Mihai PETREA, Ira-Adeline SIMIONOV, Alina MOGODAN, Aurelia NICA, Mihaela NECULITA, Dragos Sebastian CRISTEA
In an integrated aquaponic system, the phosphorus present in the technological water can be recycled in the plant biomass, depending on a series of elements related to system design and production technology. The present research aims to identify the influence of crop culture density on phosphorus dynamics in an integrated stellate sturgeon – spinach recirculating production system, by using aquaponic substrate technique. A 44 days experimental trial was performed in order to test three spinach culture densities, in triplicate, as follows: B1H - 59 crops/m2, B2H - 48 crops/m2, B3H - 39 crops/m2. A control variant (with no plants) was used, in order to estimate the spinach biomass capacity to remove phosphorus. Phosphorus removal rate had an upward trend at B1H, B2H and B3H, with an average value of 13.38 ± 5.45 g/m2/day at B1H, 11.57 ± 5.25 g/m2/day at B2H and 10.39 ± 4.4 g/m2/day at B3H. Statistically significant differences (p<0.05) were recorded between B1H and the rest of experimental variants. Although the highest phosphorus removal rate was recorded at B1H, some spinach plants manifested signs of stress, fact that might affect the phosphorus removal rate capacity during a longer experimental period.
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