Open Hydroponic Systems - an Overview

1. Open Hydroponic Systems - an Overview Rian Briedenhann +27 82 565 5504

2. Today’s Situation • Buzz words are quality & hi-tech • Plant manipulation • More advanced fertigation & irrigation • No textbook response

3. Scheduling • Sunlight • Biomass production • Water • Oxygen • Nutrients

4. Principles of Fertigation • Concentration of individual inorganic ions in the plant depend on the: • Rate of uptake • Concentration in nutrient solution • Uptake of water • Intensity of transpiration

5. Principles of Fertigation • Consumption rates of nutrients by the tree • rootstock / clone combination • plant population • growth stage • climatic conditions • water supply • plant size

6. Open field hydroponics • 3 Pillars of the system • Maximum advantage of environmental factors • Drip irrigation / Restricted rootzone • Nutrient solution manipulation

7. Environmental factors • High noon - max sunlight and energy • Will give us maximum • Transpiration • Stomatal conductivity • CO2 assimilation • Photosynthesis

8. Physiological Aspects of Water Stress • cell growth (-) • wall synthesis (-) • protein synthesis (-) • nitrate reductase level (-) • abscisic acid (+) • stomatal opening (-) • CO2 assimilation (-) • sugar accumulation (+) • proline accumulation (+)

9. Why use drippers ? Dripper Low O2 / High H2O High O2 / Low H2O

10. Photosynthesis Non stressed Rate Stressed 12.00 6 pm 6 am 9 am

11. Environmental factors • Open field hydroponics • Water requirement • Area of water deficit • Normal irri scheduling • Growth period

13. IRRIGATION SCHEDULING

14. Pulsing 10 Pulsing 50% of PAW

16. Soil moisture regimes Rooting volume 11*5min 0.3*0.3 0.4*0.4 6*9min 0.5*0.5 4*15min 3*21min 0.6*0.6

17. Factors affecting Fertigation efficacy • Correct application techniques requires paying attention to the following: • Water : quantity and quality • Nutrients : needs and demand cycle • Fertilizers : characteristics and compatibility • Installations : dissolution, storage, injection

18. Environmental factors • Management of environmental factors • Orchard layout/design • row direction • ridges • plant spacing • trellis system • cultivar / rootstock selection

19. Open Hydroponic Production Max. Adv. Of Environmental Factors + + Drip irrigation Nutrient Solution Maximum Transpiration Stomatal conductivity CO2 assimilation Photosynthesis Maximum yield and fruit Quality

20. Complimentary Practices • Tree Formation training method for light management • Cultivar / Rootstock combination early production vigor control nutrient uptake fruit quality

21. Complimentary Practices • Spacing • North / South orientation • Pruning practices • Hormone manipulation

22. Complimentary Practices • Stress management Growth regulation Girdling Fertigation 2 drippers per tree

23. Complimentary Practices • Stress Control • Growth regulators • Flower regulators • Regulated Deficit Irrigation • Pre bloom, Post bloom • Pre harvest, Post harvest • Girdling • Fertigation • Restricted root growth area - Drip pots

24. Nutrient solution • Soil contribution regarding nutrient supply?? • Fertilization program based on concentration and weight units per plant • Composition of irrigation water considered when preparing nutrient solution • Buffered at pH 5.8 - 6.2 • Adapted to the Phenology of plant (growth events)

25. General formula for …. • More fruit and less wood production • N (=), P (+), K (++), Mg (--) • More wood and less fruit production • N (=), P (-), K (--), Mg (++) • “ Good Fruit Grower – Tree Fruit Nutrition, edit by A. Brooke Peterson and Robert G. Stevens”

27. Fruit World – Fertigation systems(Very complex system – but shows need for automation)

28. Mulching vs no-mulching OHS With OHS, the objective is to form root balls as close to the soil surface as possible to minimize soil interaction with the nutrient solution. Mulching speeds up the process of forming roots near the surface.