Horticulture Commons^™

Examining Physiological And Photosynthetic Effect Of Led Lighting On Lettuce And Kale Microgreens, James Travis Blanche

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of these studies was to observe the effects of LED lighting treatments on physiological parameters of lettuce and microgreens. Four different lighting treatments; 1) Physiospec (white), 2) Red, 3) DR9 (25:75 Blue:Red), and 4) Anthospec (at 20/80 Blue:Red); were used in this experiment. Two experiments were conducted: 1) Examining the effects of LED lights on lettuce yield and photosynthetic activity and 2) The effects of switching lighting regiments halfway through the growth cycle on Kale microgreen yield and color. Physiospec lighting was found to promote the highest yield and photosynthetic activity among the four treatments for lettuce. It …

Salve Regina University Hydroponic Growing Guide: Dolores Chive, Hanna E. Lloyd

Hydroponic Center

This Salve Regina Hydroponic Growing Guide describes the process of hydroponically growing Dolores Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) in a tower system. This grow guide is based on the research project completed by third year student, Hanna Lloyd, through the Hydroponic Practicum, during the 2023 spring semester. Dolores chives are an aromatic herb which grow as tall, thin, green, leaves. Chives thrive under direct light with nutrient-rich water, and propagate under grow lights in approximately 15 days. When grown in a hydroponic tower, chives can reach up to 12-20 inches in length. The following guide provides information on optimal pH, optimal nutrient …

Micronutrient Concentration Effects On Lettuce Growth And Susceptibility To Pythium, Kalyn M. Helms

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In hydroponic production waterborne pathogens such as Pythium are ubiquitous and continually threaten a wide range of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) crops in hydroponic production, including but not limited to: lettuce, spinach, basil, arugula, cucumber, tomato, sweet pepper, roses, chrysanthemums, and cannabis (Sutton et al., 2006; Gull, 2002; McGehee and Raudales, 2021; Gillespie, 2020). Despite extensive sanitation measures, disease control in hydroponics is fallible and requires constant surveillance and management to minimize outbreaks (Sutton et al., 2006). A potential disease suppression strategy is to increase micronutrient concentrations within hydroponic systems to naturally strengthen plant defenses against pathogens such as Pythium. …

A Glass Bead Semi-Hydroponic System For Intact Maize Root Exudate Analysis And Phenotyping, Martha G. Lopez-Guerrero, Peng Wang, Felicia Phares, Daniel P. Schachtman, Sophie Alvarez, Karin V. Van Dijk

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Although there have been numerous studies describing plant growth systems for root exudate collection, a common limitation is that these systems require disruption of the plant root system to facilitate exudate collection. Here, we present a newly designed semi-hydroponic system that uses glass beads as solid support to simulate soil impedance, which combined with drip irrigation, facilitates growth of healthy maize plants, collection and analysis of root exudates, and phenotyping of the roots with minimal growth disturbance or root damage. Results: This system was used to collect root exudates from seven maize genotypes using water or 1 mM CaCl2, …

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 …

Design Of A Deep Flow Technique Hydroponic System And An Elementary Education Module For Tri Cycle Farms, Cady Rosenbaum

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hydroponics is an agricultural technique in which plants are grown without soil and are instead grown in water systems that include nutrients and other growth-supporting media. Hydroponic systems typically reside inside, so that the system can be fully controlled by the grower by manipulating the temperature and amount of light the plants receive. The benefits of growing plants using hydroponics include: the amount of water used is reduced, it is less labor to grow organic produce with an indoor system, less space used, and it allows for growing food anywhere. Tri Cycle Farms is planning for the construction of a …

Design Of A Shallow-Aero Ebb And Flow Hydroponics System And Associated Educational Module For Tri Cycle Farms, Julie Halveland

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Tri Cycle Farms, whose main mission is to reduce food insecurity in their community, is a non- profit urban farm in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The “Tri” in their name refers to the three parts of their foundation: giving a third of their yield to volunteers, giving a third to local food pantries, and selling a third to sustain the farm and demonstrate the economy of local food production. They want to expand on the third part and have a vision of building a hydroponic greenhouse with the intention that it will create more crops to sell and give, as well as …

Hydroponic And Soilless Culture Systems And Transplant Practices Influence Production Of Basil (Omicum Basilicum L.), Samuel Warren Edward Doty

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two controlled-environment greenhouse experiments evaluated (1) plant growth and morphology of basil (Omicum basilicum L.) grown in three different hydroponic and soilless substrate systems and (2) seedling tray cell-count and transplant date into hydroponic culture effects on basil growth and yield at harvest. For the first experiment, four basil cultivars (‘Genovese’, ‘Mrs. Burns Lemon’, ‘Sweet Thai’, and ‘Cinnamon’) were grown in deep flow technique (DFT) hydroponics, nutrient film technique (NFT) hydroponics, and a novel shallow aggregate ebb-and-flood (SAEF) soilless substrate system and were harvested after 21 d. Plant yield and morphological characteristics measured at harvest included shoot fresh mass, shoot …

Internal Design Of A Hydroponics Greenhouse For Tri Cycle Farms, Sarah Gould

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hydroponics is the agricultural technique of growing plants without soil, using other growing media and added nutrients in a solvent. It is an attractive agricultural method over conventional agriculture because it is more water efficient, is less labor intensive, yields higher quality crops in less time, and is easier to control. According to the Digital Journal, “hydroponics crop value is anticipated to grow to USD 27.29 Billion by 2022 at an estimated CAGR of 6.39% from 2015 to 2020” (Sawant, 2016). Alongside this growing market acceptance for hydroponics, there is also a local demand that requires only a small transportation …

Effects Of Calcium Fertilization On Growth, Yield, And Nutrient Content Of Hydroponically Grown Radish Microgreens, Cady C. Goble

MSU Graduate Theses

Radish microgreens were grown in a hydroponic wicking system and subjected to a range of calcium chloride (Ca) solutions to evaluate growth, yield, and mineral content. A solution range of 0 to 160 mM Ca was applied to determine upper limits of Ca fertilization. Solutions above 20 mM Ca showed toxic effects to germination and growth, while 5 and 10 mM Ca resulted in the greatest percent of shoots that grew to a desired size for harvest (%H), as well as greater average hypocotyl length per plant (HL) and cotyledon surface area per plant (CSA). For subsequent experiments, Ca solution …

Efficacy Of Antimicrobial Mitigation On Escherichia Coli Cfu And Growth And Development Of Hydroponic Leafy Greens, Nathan J. Eylands

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have set new standards that apply to agriculturalists producing crops eaten fresh and/or raw by consumers. This new produce safety rule, known as the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), has established science-based standards for all areas of production in agriculture with regards to microbial contamination. Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 is a particular bacterium of concern under FSMA guidelines. Grower compliance is mandatory and therefore vital to the continuation of any farm. Greenhouse hydroponic growers have shown advantages in efficiency when compared to conventional farming methodology. Those, however, with recirculating hydroponic systems face unique …

Converting Agricultural Lesson Plans To Be Common Core Compliant For Grades 3-5, Hattie Kaymarie Jameson, Brittany Rose Withnell

Agricultural Education and Communication

There are few Common Core approved lesson plans for teachers to incorporate into traditional science programs in California. The Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom (AITC) program provides K-12 educators lesson plans with an agricultural focus. Only 13 out of 45 of the lesson plans that the California AITC website offers are Common Core approved (Learn About Ag, 2017).

Agricultural literacy is valuable to consumers, can lead to careers in agriculture, and can create a greater understanding of the world and of science for students. The agricultural lessons give students a real life relationship with what they are learning and …

Shallow Aggregate Ebb-And-Flow System For Greenhouse Lettuce Production, Joseph Chidiac

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A novel soilless technique for the production of lettuce was developed and evaluated for its viability for ornamental greenhouse growers adapting their ebb-and-flood irrigation benching systems to diversify into growing lettuce, without having to purchase the conventional nutrient film technique (NFT) or deep flow technique (DFT) hydroponic systems. The experimental design was a three by four factorial, with three treatments for aggregate depth (19, 38, and 57 mm) and four treatments for irrigation frequency (once every 1, 2, 4, or 8 hours), for a total of twelve treatment combinations. Each treatment was replicated three times in a randomized complete block …

Mapping And Analyzing Energy Use And Efficiency In A Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container, Rachel E. Sparks

Open Access Theses

In urban centers today, vertical farming is becoming a popular alternative to conventional agriculture in an effort to increase local food production and improve urban food security by growing crops using hydroponic methods in controlled environment spaces. More specifically, one vertical method involves growing crops inside refurbished shipping containers, or a “farm-in-a-box” concept, which offers a flexible, mobile, and scalable means of year-round food production in a variety of climates. Despite benefits of producing food locally, some of the concerns associated with these vertical farming systems include high energy consumption from climate control and electric lighting systems as well as …

Nutrient Management For Growing Dandelion (Taraxacum Officinale L.) In Nutrient Film And Deep Flow Hydroponics, Reetinder Gill

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research study was conducted to determine an optimal nutrient strategy for dandelion production in nutrient film technique (NFT) and deep flow technique (DFT) systems of hydroponics. It was achieved by growing dandelion at varying levels of nutrient solution concentration and pH in both NFT and DFT systems. Additionally, an optimal nutrient solution concentration and timing of application for dandelion seedling production was also determined.

Growing Cucumbers In Protected Cultivation In Western Australia, John Burt

All other publications

There are over 20 growers who produce cucumbers under protected cultivation in Western Australia, ranging from Manjimup in the South-West to Geraldton and Carnarvon. They mainly grow these crops hydroponically in greenhouses. There is also some production under shadecloth and some crops are grown in soil. There are two types of cucumbers grown under protected cultivation. The Continental or burpless cucumber is the main type of cucumber and has long fruit, whereas the Lebanese (mini) cucumber has shorter fruit. Compared with field cucumbers, these two types are seedless and do not require pollination to produce fruits. To ensure they are …