Growth and Nutrient Removal Efficiency of Sweet Wormwood (Artemisia annua) in a Recirculating Aquaculture System for Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

The maintenance of optimal water quality for fish production is one of the major challenges in aquaculture. Aquaponic systems can improve the quality of water for fish by removing the undesirable wastes and in turn produce a second marketable crop. However, there is no information on the growth and...

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Published inWater (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 5; p. 923
Main Authors Gichana, Zipporah, Meulenbroek, Paul, Ogello, Erick, Drexler, Silke, Zollitsch, Werner, Liti, David, Akoll, Peter, Waidbacher, Herwig
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.05.2019
Subjects
Ammonia
Aquaculture
Aquaponics
aquaponics system
Artemisia annua
Bacteria
denitrification
Experiments
Fish
Fish production
Freshwater resources
Growth rate
Hydroponics
Loam soils
Nile tilapia
nitrification
Nitrites
Nitrogen removal
Nutrient removal
Nutrients
Oreochromis niloticus
Pesticides
Phosphorus
plant density
Planting density
Systems analysis
Tilapia
Water quality
Kenya
United States > US
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Summary:The maintenance of optimal water quality for fish production is one of the major challenges in aquaculture. Aquaponic systems can improve the quality of water for fish by removing the undesirable wastes and in turn produce a second marketable crop. However, there is no information on the growth and nutrient removal capability of Artemisia annua in aquaponic systems. This study evaluated the effect of plant density on water quality, the growth of A. annua and Oreochromis niloticus in a small scale aquaponic system in Kenya. The aquaponic system consisted of three treatments representing different plant densities (D1: 48 plants/m2, D2: 24 plants/m2 and D3:0 plants/m2). The high plant density system contributed significantly (p < 0.05) to the removal of all nutrients. The removal efficiency of ammonia was significantly higher in D1 (64.1 ± 14.7%) than in D2 (44.5 ± 6.8%) and D3 (38.0 ± 12.1%). Nitrates and nitrites were inconsistent, whereas phosphorus increased gradually in all treatments. The productivity of plants was higher in D1 than D2. Fish growth rates were significantly higher in D1 (0.35 ± 0.03 g/d) and D2 (0.32 ± 0.02 g/d) than in D3 (0.22 ± 0.04 g/d). The results show that A. annua can be cultivated in aquaponic systems due to its nitrogen removal capabilities.
ISSN:2073-4441
2073-4441
DOI:10.3390/w11050923