Comparative efficacy of non-electric cooling techniques to reduce nutrient solution temperature for the sustainable cultivation of summer vegetables in open-air hydroponics

Muhammad Mohsin Nisar; Rashid Mahmood; Salman Tayyab; Moazzam Anees; Faisal Nadeem; Sadia Bibi; Faiza Waseem; Nazir Ahmed; Jing Li; Song Zhao

doi:10.3389/fpls.2024.1340641

Comparative efficacy of non-electric cooling techniques to reduce nutrient solution temperature for the sustainable cultivation of summer vegetables in open-air hydroponics

Front Plant Sci. 2024 Mar 1:15:1340641. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1340641. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Horticulture, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
² Department of Soil Science, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
³ Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
⁴ College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory for New Technology Research of Vegetables, Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Science, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

The cultivation of summer vegetables in open-air nutrient film technique (NFT) hydroponics is limited due to the elevated nutrient solution temperature (NST). In this regard, non-electric evaporative-cooling techniques were explored to maintain NST in open-air NFT hydroponics. Four cooling setups were employed by wrapping polyvinyl chloride (PVC) grow pipes with one and two layers of either wet or dry jute fabrics and attaching them with coiled aluminum pipe buried inside a) wet sand-filled brick tunnels (Cooling Setup I), b) two inverted and vertically stacked earthen pots (Cooling Setup II), c) two inverted and vertically stacked earthen pots externally wrapped with wet jute fabric (Wrapped Cooling Setup II), and d) an earthen pitcher wrapped with wet jute fabric (Cooling Setup III). Wrapping grow pipes with two layers of wet jute fabric reduced NST by 5°C as compared to exposed (naked) grow pipes. The double-layer jute fabric-wrapped grow pipes produced 182% more reduction in NST in comparison to single layer-wrapped grow pipes. Additionally, the installation of Wrapped Cooling Setup II and Cooling Setup III outperformed Cooling Setup I and Cooling Setup II through NST reduction of approximately 4°C in comparison to control. Interestingly, Cooling Setup III showed its effectiveness through NST reductions of 193%, 88%, and 23% during 11 a.m.-12 p.m. as compared to Cooling Setup I, Cooling Setup II, and Wrapped Cooling Setup II, respectively. In contrast, Wrapped Cooling Setup II caused NST reductions of 168%, 191%, and 18% during 2-3 p.m. in comparison to Cooling Setup I, Cooling Setup II, and Cooling Setup III, respectively. Thus, the double-layer jute fabric-wrapped grow pipes linked with Wrapped Cooling Setup II can ensure summer vegetable cultivation in open-air NFT hydroponics as indicated by the survival of five out of 12 vegetable plants till harvest by maintaining NST between 26°C and 28°C.

Keywords: PVC grow pipes; hydroponics; jute fabric; nutrient solution temperature; open air system.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The research was supported by the Guangzhou Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, Grant/Award Number: 202201010706; Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, Grant/Award Numbers: 2023A1515012694; Office of Research Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC), University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.