Abstract
Egypt has limited agricultural land, associated with the scarcity of irrigation water and rapid population growth. Hydroponic farming, seawater desalination and magnetic treatment are among the practical solutions for sustaining rapid population growth. In this regard, the main objective of the present research study was to design and construct a hierarchical engineering unit as a hydroponic farming system (soilless) to produce an iceberg lettuce crop using magnetically treated saline water. The treatments included four types of irrigation water: common irrigation water (IW1) with an electrical conductivity (EC) of 0.96 dS/m as a control treatment, magnetically treated common irrigation water (IW2) with an EC of 0.96 dS/m, saline water (IW3) with an EC of 4.56 dS/m and magnetically treated saline water (IW4) with an EC of 4.56 dS/m; three depletion ratios (DR) of field capacity (DR0 = 50%, DR1 = 60% and DR2 = 70%) and three slopes of hydroponic pipes (S1 = 0.0%, S2 = 0.025% and S3 = 0.075%). The results revealed that seawater contributed 7.15% to produce iceberg lettuce in the hydroponic system. The geometric parameter, the slope of the pipes, influenced the obtained luminous intensity by an average increase of 21% and 71% for S2 and S3, respectively, compared with the zero slope (horizontal pipes). Magnetization of irrigation water increased the total soluble solids (TSS) and enhanced the fresh weight and water productivity of both iceberg lettuce varieties used. The maximum percentages of TSS were 5.20% and 5.10% for lemur and iceberg 077, respectively, for the combination IW4DR2S2. The highest values of fresh weight and water productivity of 3.10 kg/m and 39.15 kg/m3 were recorded with the combinations IW3DR2S3 and IW4DR1S3, respectively, for lemur and iceberg lettuce. The percentages of these increases were 109.46% and 97.78%, respectively, when compared with the combination IW1DR0S1. The highest values of iceberg lettuce 077 fresh weight and water productivity were 2.93 kg/m and 36.15 kg/m3, respectively, which were recorded with the combination IW4DR1S3. The percentages of these increases were 112.32% and 120.56%, respectively, when compared with IW1DR0S1 (the control treatment).
Highlights
In Egypt, the reclamation of newly cultivated areas is a challenge from the economic point of view, and existing cultivated regions are affected by seawater encroachment, such as the Kafr El-Sheikh region which overlooks the Mediterranean Sea coast [1,2]
total soluble solids (TSS), fresh weight (FW) and Water Productivity (WP) increased by 24.6%, 36.1% and 32.6% with IW4, respectively, compared with the control treatment (IW1 combination) for lemur iceberg lettuce
In the magnetization process, the water molecules which had been influenced by hydrogen bonds and Van der Waals forces were in reaction with the ions released to make the water more cohesive, and the water molecules were attached to the soil particles and did not leach to the lower depths; the water molecules penetrated into the micro-spaces of the soil particles and, were impeded from moving deeper
Summary
In Egypt, the reclamation of newly cultivated areas is a challenge from the economic point of view, and existing cultivated regions are affected by seawater encroachment, such as the Kafr El-Sheikh region which overlooks the Mediterranean Sea coast [1,2]. Like many other countries in arid and semi-arid regions, Egypt suffers from limited natural resources, including fertile cultivated areas and fresh irrigation water associated with rapid population growth [3,4,5,6]. In this context, to sustainably feed the increased population, new promising methods for producing adequate food are compulsory. The hydroponic farming systems have developed a new farming idea which only needs a small area and produces good results in less space and time than conventional farming systems As an alternative, it can be a sustainable source of food [10]. It helps to raise the quality values, including chlorophyll and total soluble solids, as well as increase the yield and profitability of production, which increases food production [15,16]
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