Horticulture Commons^™

Nutrient Uptake And Management Strategies In Recirculating Hydroponic Systems, Lauren Leigh Houston

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nutrient management in recirculating hydroponic systems requires the periodic replenishment of water and nutrients to the nutrient solution reservoir. Common nutrient management strategies, such as replenishing the reservoir with fresh solution and maintaining a constant solution electrical conductivity (EC), can lead to ion accumulation and nutrient imbalances since nutrients are taken up by roots and depleted from solution at different rates. To avoid nutritional disorders, commercial growers typically dump and replace the hydroponic solution periodically, which is wasteful and has an economic cost. A potential alternative is to specially formulate the nutrient replenishment solution to balance the supply of nutrients …