Study on plant growth and nutrient uptake under different aeration intensity in hydroponics with the application of particle image velocimetry

Abstract

Aeration is considered beneficial for hydroponics. However, little information is available on the effects of aeration, and even less on solutions that use bubble flow and their agronomic effects. In this study, the effects of aeration intensity on plants were studied through cultivation experiments and flow field visualization. It was found that the growth of plants did not increase linearly with an increase in aeration intensity. From the results of this study, when the aeration intensity was within the low range (0.07–0.15 L·L−1 NS·min−1 ), increasing the aeration intensity increased the plant growth. However, after the aeration intensity reached a certain extent (0.15–1.18 L·L−1 NS·min−1 ), some indicators did not change significantly. When the aeration intensity continued to increase (1.18–2.35 L·L−1 NS·min−1 ), growth began to decrease. These results show that for increasing dissolved oxygen and promoting plant growth, the rule is not “the higher the aeration intensity, the better”. There is a reasonable range of aeration intensity within which crops grow normally and rapidly. In addition, increasing the aeration intensity means increasing energy utilization and operating costs. In actual hydroponics production, it is very important to find a reasonable aeration intensity range.