Progress 11/22/19 to 09/30/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Hydroponics (soilless plant production) and aquaponics (production of fish and plants) are emerging sectors in New York State and across the U.S. which produce fresh, local produce and protein. The primary target audience for this project is New York State commercial greenhouse/hydroponic producers (1,981 production operations with a $224 million annual farmgate value) and commercial aquaculture producers (105 farms with $13 million annual farmgate value). An important secondary target audience is schools and non-profits that incorporate greenhouse, hydroponic, aquaculture, or aquaponics into their activities. Finally, this project is part of a broader multi-state effort (NCERA-1835 Resource use efficiency in controlled envionment agriculture) and the research/outreach of this project also supporters the broader national community. Changes/Problems:During the onset of COVID-19 we were able to maintain our fish production system, however, new plant experiments had to be ceased for several months. During this time several outreach/training events were moved to an online format. The original project-PI, Michael Timmons retired at the end of 2020 and Dr. Neil Mattson took over as project-PI. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Our outreach efforts (workshops, presentations, and webinars) during the reporting period resulted in the training of 452 New York State participants and 913 out-of-state participants. Participants represent aquaponics, hydroponics, and greenhouse industry members, extension educators, Master Gardeners, school teachers, and middle-school and high-school teachers. In addition, 3 refereed journal articles, 4 refereed book chapters, 7 trade journal articles, and 3 extension bulletins were used to disseminate project findings in written form. Two virtual greenhouse tours were given to middle and high-school students, and one virtual tour was given to a 4-H club. Finally, 9 undergraduate students and 2 graduate students were trained in aquaponics/hydroponics independent research and outreach. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Americans rely on farmed fish (aquaculture) as a healthy protein source. In the U.S. there are 5,350 aquaculture farms producing $1.8 billion wholesale annually (USDA, 2017). In NY this is an emerging industry with 105 farms and $13 million value. Hydroponics (protected plant production without soil) is another emerging industry with 601 operations and $39 million value (doubling in 10 years) in NY. Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics where fish waste is used as plant fertilizer and plants filter the water for fish. These production methods are land-use efficient and lend themselves well to urban production and to school science and agriculture classes. Project findings and outreach efforts contribute to the profitability of aquaponics and hydroponics by helping growers and educators design optimum production systems, expand the diversity of crops grown beyond leafy greens and tomatoes (ex. strawberries and basil). Specifically, our outreach efforts (workshops, presentations, and webinars) during the reporting period resulted in the training of 452 New York State participants and 913 out-of-state participants. Participants represent aquaponics, hydroponics, and greenhouse industry members, extension educators, Master Gardeners, school teachers, and middle-school and high-school teachers. In addition, 3 refereed journal articles, 4 refereed book chapters, 7 trade journal articles, and 3 extension bulletins were used to disseminate project findings in written form. Two virtual greenhouse tours were given to middle and high-school students, and one virtual tour was given to a 4-H club. Finally, 9 undergraduate students and 2 graduate students were trained in aquaponics/hydroponics independent research and outreach. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue ongoing research on: optimizing aquaponic production of leafy greens, decouple aquaponics effluent complemented with mineral elements for hydroponic crops, and reducing energy use in greenhouse supplemental lighting through use of LEDs. We will continue outreach efforts including presentations, workshops, and hosting educational groups, as well as revamping Cornell's aquaponics website and adding our newest extension materials.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Maintain the aquaponics learning laboratory at Cornell University as a platform for applied research and extension/outreach in aquaponic and hydroponic production methods. At Cornell University, the aquaponics research lab (combining fish and hydroponic plant production) at Cornell University operates in the Controlled Environment Agriculture group as a collaboration between PI, Dr. Mattson (hydroponics specialist) and Co-PI, Won (fish specialist). A full-time research/extension technician oversees day-to-day research and outreach activities. The lab operates within an 800 square foot greenhouse and consists of a 400 gallon fish tank and associated recirculated aquaculture system (solids removal, water filtration, biological denitrification, oxygenation, and monitoring). Associated with the aquaculture system are several versatile hydroponic grow beds that can be set up to grow different crops in deep water culture, nutrient film technique, or substrate culture. Develop practical production guidelines to increase the efficiency of organic fertilizers in production of container-grown ornamentals and hydroponically-grown vegetables. Organic hydroponic production can represent a value-added production practice however organic fertilization can be quite difficult to development of biofilm that can coat roots and reduce dissolved oxygen availability. Hydrogen peroxide has been used by hobby hydroponics growers to act as a disinfecting agent to reduce biofilm as well as disassociates to form added dissolved oxygen. Hydroponic lettuce was grown with a conventional or organic fertilizer and then given 0, 37.5 or 75 mg/L hydrogen peroxide every 3 days. Plants with conventional fertilizer performed substantially better than organic fertilizer plants in the absence of hydrogen peroxide. With conventional fertilizer both 37.5 and 75 mg/L hydrogen peroxide led to poor plant performance (due to toxic effects of hydrogen peroxide on roots). For organic fertilizer, plants with 37.5 mg/L hydrogen peroxide had biomass that matched conventional control plants at 0 mg/L hydrogen peroxide. Therefore, hydrogen peroxide applications may make organic hydroponic fertilization a more viable method in the future. More work is needed to optimize hydrogen peroxide addition rate (smaller concentrations applied more frequently may be more desirable). Develop practical management guidelines yield and quality of vegetables grown in recirculating hydroponics and aquaponics systems.to improve production efficiency and increase productivity. Liquid or solid waste from aquaculture and aquaponic systems can be an important organic source of nutrients in hydroponic production, however the ratio of nutrients is not always balanced to plant needs. The practice of complementing aquaponic water (that is adding additional mineral elements) was tested for hydroponic strawberry and basil production and compared to conventional hydroponics and unamended aquaponic water. Iron deficiency was noted in plants grown in unamended aquaponic water as well as substantially smaller plant size than conventional hydroponic. When aquaponic water was amended with mineral elements to match the concentration of hydroponic water performance of strawberries and basil was similar to conventional hydroponic plants. The work demonstrates that a combination of aquaponic waste water use with amended nutrients may allow growers to use this important waste-stream without compromising plant yield. Develop recommendations for application of flexible wavelength lighting and selective cover materials or shading elements for greenhouses. Cornell University: In hydroponic production of lettuce, blue light is an important component of the lighting spectrum for high quality pigment production (i.e. making green leaves greener and red-leaf lettuce redder). However, blue light can also cause a plant to be more compact and have lower biomass. A strategy was tested in a controlled environment chamber whereby 80% red and 20% green light was used for most of the crop cycle and then the green light was substituted with red light 0, 2, 4, or 8 days before harvest. Plants with 2 days of blue light had similar green and red pigment as 4 or 8 day plants and did not have a reduced biomass compared to 0 day plants. Therefore 2 days of blue light treatment at the end of the crop cycle may be sufficient to induce pigment (visual) effects without comprising yield for sole-source lettuce production.
Publications
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Nicholson, C.F., K. Harbick, M.I. G�mez and N.S. Mattson. 2020. An economic and environmental comparison of conventional and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) supply chains for leaf lettuce to US cities , in Food Supply Chains in Cities, (E. Aktas and M. Bourlakis, eds.), Palgrave Macmillan.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Mattson, N.S. and C.J. Currey. 2019. Advances in nutrient management in greenhouse cultivation, in Achieving Sustainable Greenhouse Cultivation, (L.F.M. Marcelis and E. Heuvelink, eds), Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Mi, R., Taylor, A.G., Smart, L.B. and Mattson, N.S. 2020. Developing production guidelines for baby leaf hemp (Cannabis sativa L. as an edible salad green: cultivar, sowing density and seed size. Agriculture. 10(12), 617. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture10120617
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Li, Y., Heckman, J., Wyenandt, A., Mattson, N., Durner, E. and Both, A.J. 2020. Potential benefits of silicon nutrition to hydroponically grown sweet basil. HortScience, 55(11):1799-1803. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI15320-20
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Shahid, M.A., Sarkhosh, A., Khan, N., Balal, R.M., Ali, S., Rossi, L., G�mez, C., Mattson, N., Nasim, W., Garcia-Sanchez, F. Insights into the physiological and biochemical impacts of salt stress on plant growth and development. Agronomy., 10 (7), 938. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10070938
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Hernandez, E., Timmons, M., and Mattson, N. 2020. Quality, yield, and biomass efficacy of several hydroponic lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) cultivars in response to high pressure sodium lights and light emitting diodes for greenhouse supplemental lighting. MDPI Horticulturae. 6(1), p.12. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae6010007
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