Investigation of different lighting (LED, HPS and FLO) in aquaponics systems for joint production of different plants (Lettuce, Parsley and Cress) and koi carp

Abstract

We investigated the effects of growth performance of three plant species parsley (Petroselinum crispum), lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and cress (Lepidium sativum) under the three different lighting sources, Light-Emitting Diode lamp (LED; 200w), High-Pressure Sodium lamp (HPS; 200w) and Fluorescent lamp (FLO; 200w) in an aquaponic system. A total number of 43 koi fish (Cyprinus carpio var. koi) with 3628 g total biomass (84.4 g per individual) were used. The fish used in the experiment recorded 36% growth and reached an average individual weight of 132.7 g at the end of the experiment. The parsley plant was measured as 8.76 ±7.32 g; 7.45 ±4.13 g; 2.04 ±1.96 g weight after 45 days, the lettuce plant was 54.09 ± 25.60 g; 60.83 ±19.39 g; 17.81 ±6.40 g weight after 54 days, cress plant was 1.03 ±0.58 g; 1.15 ±0.46 g; 1.31 ±0.58 g weight after 42 days, under the HPS, LED, and FLO light sources, respectively. HPS and LED light sources in lettuce and parsley showed better plant development than the FLO, while no significant difference occurred in cress plants under three light conditions. We conclude that using HPS or LED lights in indoor aquaponics has the potential to produce good quality and adequate amounts of plants.