IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v98y2011i5p841-846.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Water and nutrient use efficiency of a low-cost hydroponic greenhouse for a cucumber crop: An Australian case study

Author

Listed:
  • Grewal, Harsharn S.
  • Maheshwari, Basant
  • Parks, Sophie E.

Abstract

The Australian greenhouse industry is primarily dominated by low-cost hydroponic greenhouses for delivery of water and nutrients to plants to grow a variety of vegetable crops including cucumber and tomato. The nutrient rich drainage water from these greenhouses is generally released into the local environment causing pollution concerns. This study was initiated to investigate the opportunities in recycling drainage water to increase water and nutrient-use efficiency of hydroponic greenhouses and reduce the environmental impact of the drainage water discharge. Results indicated that a total of 4.15Â ML/ha of irrigation water was applied during the 13 weeks crop growing period of which 2.56Â ML/ha was drained off and 1.59Â ML/ha was used to meet the crop evapotranspiration demand. The study showed that the recycling of the drainage water resulted in a 33% reduction in potable water used for irrigation in cucumber production. The drainage water contained 59% applied N, 25% applied P and 55% applied K and illustrated the potential for nutrient recovery and production cost savings through the reuse of drainage water. This case study demonstrates that some relatively simple changes in irrigation practices within greenhouse systems to recycle drainage water can considerably improve sustainability of low-cost hydroponic greenhouses and help minimise the environmental footprint of the greenhouse industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Grewal, Harsharn S. & Maheshwari, Basant & Parks, Sophie E., 2011. "Water and nutrient use efficiency of a low-cost hydroponic greenhouse for a cucumber crop: An Australian case study," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(5), pages 841-846, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:98:y:2011:i:5:p:841-846
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378-3774(10)00393-8
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sánchez-Guerrero, M.C. & Lorenzo, P. & Medrano, E. & Baille, A. & Castilla, N., 2009. "Effects of EC-based irrigation scheduling and CO2 enrichment on water use efficiency of a greenhouse cucumber crop," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(3), pages 429-436, March.
    2. Simsek, Mehmet & Tonkaz, Tahsin & Kacira, Murat & Comlekcioglu, Nuray & Dogan, Zeki, 2005. "The effects of different irrigation regimes on cucumber (Cucumbis sativus L.) yield and yield characteristics under open field conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 73(3), pages 173-191, May.
    3. Mao, Xuesen & Liu, Mengyu & Wang, Xinyuan & Liu, Changming & Hou, Zhimin & Shi, Jinzhi, 2003. "Effects of deficit irrigation on yield and water use of greenhouse grown cucumber in the North China Plain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 219-228, July.
    4. Thompson, R.B. & Martinez-Gaitan, C. & Gallardo, M. & Gimenez, C. & Fernandez, M.D., 2007. "Identification of irrigation and N management practices that contribute to nitrate leaching loss from an intensive vegetable production system by use of a comprehensive survey," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(3), pages 261-274, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Katsoulas, N. & Sapounas, A. & De Zwart, F. & Dieleman, J.A. & Stanghellini, C., 2015. "Reducing ventilation requirements in semi-closed greenhouses increases water use efficiency," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 90-99.
    2. Lukas Simon Kriem & Carsten Pietzka & Marc Beckett & Luisa Gärtling & Benjamin Wriedt, 2023. "Electrochemical In Situ Hydrogen Peroxide Production Can Reduce Microbial Load in Bioponic Nutrient Solutions Derived from Organic Waste," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-17, November.
    3. Adamson, David, 2013. "Can Australia become the Food Bowl of Asia?," Risk and Sustainable Management Group Working Papers 157080, University of Queensland, School of Economics.
    4. Dimitra I. Pomoni & Maria K. Koukou & Michail Gr. Vrachopoulos & Labros Vasiliadis, 2023. "A Review of Hydroponics and Conventional Agriculture Based on Energy and Water Consumption, Environmental Impact, and Land Use," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-26, February.
    5. J. M. Aishwarya & R. Vidhya, 2023. "Study on the Efficiency of a Hydroponic Treatment for Removing Organic Loading from Wastewater and Its Application as a Nutrient for the “ Amaranthus campestris ” Plant for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-13, May.
    6. Lévesque, Serge & Graham, Thomas & Bejan, Dorin & Dixon, Mike, 2022. "Comparative analysis of regenerative in situ electrochemical hypochlorination and conventional water disinfection technologies for growing ornamental crops with recirculating hydroponics," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    7. Wang, Aihua & Gallardo, Marisa & Zhao, Wei & Zhang, Zhiping & Miao, Minmin, 2019. "Yield, nitrogen uptake and nitrogen leaching of tunnel greenhouse grown cucumber in a shallow groundwater region," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 73-80.
    8. Fayezizadeh, Mohammad Reza & Ansari, Naser Alam Zadeh & Albaji, Mohammad & Khaleghi, Esmail, 2021. "Effects of hydroponic systems on yield, water productivity and stomatal gas exchange of greenhouse tomato cultivars," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    9. Joanna Majkowska-Gadomska & Zdzisław Kaliniewicz & Emilia Mikulewicz & Anna Francke & Krzysztof K. Jadwisieńczak & Marek Marks & Dariusz J. Choszcz & Wojciech Kozłowski, 2024. "Effect of Different Sustainable Cultivation Methods on the Biometric Parameters and Yield of Mint," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-11, August.
    10. Li, Sien & Kang, Shaozhong & Zhang, Lu & Du, Taisheng & Tong, Ling & Ding, Risheng & Guo, Weihua & Zhao, Peng & Chen, Xia & Xiao, Huan, 2015. "Ecosystem water use efficiency for a sparse vineyard in arid northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 24-33.
    11. Blok, Chris & Voogt, Wim & Barbagli, Tommaso, 2023. "Reducing nutrient imbalance in recirculating drainage solution of stone wool grown tomato," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    12. Mahmood, Farhat & Govindan, Rajesh & Bermak, Amine & Yang, David & Al-Ansari, Tareq, 2023. "Data-driven robust model predictive control for greenhouse temperature control and energy utilisation assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 343(C).
    13. Tarek Mahrous Korany Mohamed & Jianmin Gao & Mohamed E. Abuarab & Mohamed Kassem & Essam Wasef & Wessam El-Ssawy, 2022. "Applying Different Magnetic Water Densities as Irrigation for Aeroponically and Hydroponically Grown Strawberries," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-18, June.
    14. Çakir, Recep & Kanburoglu-Çebi, Ulviye & Altintas, Surreya & Ozdemir, Aylin, 2017. "Irrigation scheduling and water use efficiency of cucumber grown as a spring-summer cycle crop in solar greenhouse," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 180(PA), pages 78-87.
    15. Senel, Unal & Senel, Ilkay & Yildirim, Ridvan & Cemek, Mustafa & Isildak, Ibrahim & Agir, Ismail, 2015. "Mini Review: Hydrophonic Greenhouse --The Common Problems and Solutions," International Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Research, Malwa International Journals Publication, vol. 1(02), December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Liu, Haijun & Yin, Congyan & Gao, Zhuangzhuang & Hou, Lizhu, 2021. "Evaluation of cucumber yield, economic benefit and water productivity under different soil matric potentials in solar greenhouses in North China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    2. Çakir, Recep & Kanburoglu-Çebi, Ulviye & Altintas, Surreya & Ozdemir, Aylin, 2017. "Irrigation scheduling and water use efficiency of cucumber grown as a spring-summer cycle crop in solar greenhouse," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 180(PA), pages 78-87.
    3. Wang, Aihua & Gallardo, Marisa & Zhao, Wei & Zhang, Zhiping & Miao, Minmin, 2019. "Yield, nitrogen uptake and nitrogen leaching of tunnel greenhouse grown cucumber in a shallow groundwater region," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 73-80.
    4. Ngouajio, Mathieu & Wang, Guangyao & Goldy, Ronald, 2007. "Withholding of drip irrigation between transplanting and flowering increases the yield of field-grown tomato under plastic mulch," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 87(3), pages 285-291, February.
    5. Kang, Shaozhong & Hao, Xinmei & Du, Taisheng & Tong, Ling & Su, Xiaoling & Lu, Hongna & Li, Xiaolin & Huo, Zailin & Li, Sien & Ding, Risheng, 2017. "Improving agricultural water productivity to ensure food security in China under changing environment: From research to practice," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 5-17.
    6. Incrocci, Luca & Marzialetti, Paolo & Incrocci, Giorgio & Di Vita, Andrea & Balendonck, Jos & Bibbiani, Carlo & Spagnol, Serafino & Pardossi, Alberto, 2019. "Sensor-based management of container nursery crops irrigated with fresh or saline water," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 49-61.
    7. Ćosić, Marija & Djurović, Nevenka & Todorović, Mladen & Maletić, Radojka & Zečević, Bogoljub & Stričević, Ružica, 2015. "Effect of irrigation regime and application of kaolin on yield, quality and water use efficiency of sweet pepper," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 139-147.
    8. Yuan, Chengfu & Feng, Shaoyuan & Huo, Zailin & Ji, Quanyi, 2019. "Effects of deficit irrigation with saline water on soil water-salt distribution and water use efficiency of maize for seed production in arid Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 424-432.
    9. Gallardo, M. & Giménez, C. & Martínez-Gaitán, C. & Stöckle, C.O. & Thompson, R.B. & Granados, M.R., 2011. "Evaluation of the VegSyst model with muskmelon to simulate crop growth, nitrogen uptake and evapotranspiration," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 101(1), pages 107-117.
    10. Gallardo, M. & Thompson, R.B. & Rodríguez, J.S. & Rodríguez, F. & Fernández, M.D. & Sánchez, J.A. & Magán, J.J., 2009. "Simulation of transpiration, drainage, N uptake, nitrate leaching, and N uptake concentration in tomato grown in open substrate," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(12), pages 1773-1784, December.
    11. Rouphael, Youssef & Cardarelli, Mariateresa & Rea, Elvira & Battistelli, Alberto & Colla, Giuseppe, 2006. "Comparison of the subirrigation and drip-irrigation systems for greenhouse zucchini squash production using saline and non-saline nutrient solutions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 82(1-2), pages 99-117, April.
    12. Ali, M.H. & Hoque, M.R. & Hassan, A.A. & Khair, A., 2007. "Effects of deficit irrigation on yield, water productivity, and economic returns of wheat," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(3), pages 151-161, September.
    13. Abdelraouf R. E. & H. G. Ghanem & Najat A. Bukhari & Mohamed El-Zaidy, 2020. "Field and Modeling Study on Manual and Automatic Irrigation Scheduling under Deficit Irrigation of Greenhouse Cucumber," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-20, November.
    14. Antonio J. Castro & María D. López-Rodríguez & Cynthia Giagnocavo & Miguel Gimenez & Leticia Céspedes & Abel La Calle & Marisa Gallardo & Pablo Pumares & Javier Cabello & Estefanía Rodríguez & David U, 2019. "Six Collective Challenges for Sustainability of Almería Greenhouse Horticulture," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-23, October.
    15. Simsek, Mehmet & Tonkaz, Tahsin & Kacira, Murat & Comlekcioglu, Nuray & Dogan, Zeki, 2005. "The effects of different irrigation regimes on cucumber (Cucumbis sativus L.) yield and yield characteristics under open field conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 73(3), pages 173-191, May.
    16. Li, Shengping & Tan, Deshui & Wu, Xueping & Degré, Aurore & Long, Huaiyu & Zhang, Shuxiang & Lu, Jinjing & Gao, Lili & Zheng, Fengjun & Liu, Xiaotong & Liang, Guopeng, 2021. "Negative pressure irrigation increases vegetable water productivity and nitrogen use efficiency by improving soil water and NO3–-N distributions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    17. Heling Fan & Yanshu Zhang & Jingchen Li & Jiajun Jiang & Abdul Waheed & Shuguang Wang & Syed Majid Rasheed & Li Zhang & Rongping Zhang, 2023. "Effects of Organic Fertilizer Supply on Soil Properties, Tomato Yield, and Fruit Quality: A Global Meta-Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, January.
    18. Yasuor, Hagai & Yermiyahu, Uri & Ben-Gal, Alon, 2020. "Consequences of irrigation and fertigation of vegetable crops with variable quality water: Israel as a case study," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    19. Bonachela, Santiago & Fernández, María Dolores & Cabrera, Francisco Javier & Granados, María Rosa, 2018. "Soil spatio-temporal distribution of water, salts and nutrients in greenhouse, drip-irrigated tomato crops using lysimetry and dielectric methods," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 151-161.
    20. Li, Jungai & Liu, Hongbin & Wang, Hongyuan & Luo, Jiafa & Zhang, Xuejun & Liu, Zhaohui & Zhang, Yitao & Zhai, Limei & Lei, Qiuliang & Ren, Tianzhi & Li, Yan & Bashir, Muhammad Amjad, 2018. "Managing irrigation and fertilization for the sustainable cultivation of greenhouse vegetables," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 354-363.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:98:y:2011:i:5:p:841-846. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.