Growth and Nutrient Removal Efficiency of Sweet Wormwood (Artemisia annua) in a Recirculating Aquaculture System for Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
Loading...
Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Water
Abstract
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 effeect 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.
Description
Keywords
Aquaponics system, Denitrification, Nile tilapia, Nitrification, Plant density
Citation
Gichana, Z., Meulenbroek, P., Ogello, E., Drexler, S., Zollitsch, W., Liti, D., ... & Waidbacher, H. (2019). Growth and nutrient removal efficiency of sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua) in a recirculating aquaculture system for Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Water, 11(5), 923. doi:10.3390/w11050923