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J. Japan. Soc. Hort. Sci. 64(4) : 839-844. 1996.

A Study

on a Simple

Passive

Hydroponic

System

for Melon

Production

Hideo Ikeda*,
Keiko Tagami
and Naoya Fukuda
Institute of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305

Summary

Melon plants were grown from spring to summer (crop 1) and summer to autumn (crop
2) by a passive hydroponic system which was laid below the ground surface, so that
plants can be grown and harvested without management of the nutrient solution. The
effects of the initial concentration of nutrient solution on the growth of plants, yield and
quality of fruits, and absorption of water and minerals were investigated while using this
system.
The concentrations of the nutrient solution had varied effects on plant growth and
fruit yield of melon, depending on the growing season. The marketable fruits were harvested from plants grown in the higher concentration plots in crop 1 and in all plots in
crop 2. The temperature of the root zone was relatively low and fluctuated little even in
the summer (crop 1), because the growing system, that is, solution reservoir was laid below the ground surface. Thus, it was concluded that this passive hydroponic system may
be an useful and practical production technique for melons. However, more trails need to
be conducted to adjust the nutrient solution for practical use.

roots can absorb oxygen


Electric
pumps are not

Introduction

Many kinds of soilless culture techniques


for
the production of vegetable crops have been established in Japan (Ikeda, 1994, 1995), as in other
countries (Adams, 1990; Cooper, 1979; Hitchon et
al., 1990; Imai, 1987; Koontz et al., 1990; Kratky
et al., 1988). Almost every system use an electric

planting,
the nutrient
solution
required
for one
crop must be prepared
in an underground
reservoir. Then after planting, such care as control of
pH, electric conductivity
(EC) and mineral composition of the solution, aeration, renewal of the
solution,
etc. is not required
until
harvest.
However, for this hydroponic
system, the proper

pump for supplying


the nutrient
solution and/or
air to plants. In most hydroponic systems, the pH,
concentration,
elemental composition, aeration and
flow rate of the nutrient solution have to be controlled during growth periods. Those management

growing conditions for each crop, that is, optimum


nutrient concentration
and composition and pH of
the nutrient solution, have not yet been studied.
In this experiment,
melon plants were grown by

practices are, however, fairly difficult and troublesome for growers to maintain.
Recently, a new concept for a hydroponic
system called "Passive
hydroponics"
was adapted by
Ono (1988) in Japan. This growing system was
originally started in the U.S.A. as a Skaife Truck
Farm (Jones, 1983). In this system, once plants
absorb nutrient
solution,
the water surface decreases, and naked roots with fine root hairs develop in the air above the water surface. Thus, the
Received for publication 26 December 1994.
* Present address; College of Agriculture
, University
Osaka Prefecture, Sakai, Osaka 593.

directly from the air.


necessary,
but before

passive hydroponics;
the effects of the initial concentration
of the nutrient solution on the growth
of plants, yield and quality of fruit, and absorption
of water and minerals by the plants were investigated.
Materials
From

our

hydroponic
mated
tion
season.

of

pared

839

preliminary
system

to require
for

one
This
and

and

experiment,

illustrated
about

crop

100

liter

of nutrient
in

an

our

in Fig.

of melons

volume
stored

Methods
passive

1, was

of nutrient

even

during

solution

underground

estisolu-

the
was
120

hot
preliter

840

H. Ikeda,

K. Tagami

plastic bucket as a reservoir. Three initial concentrations of nutrient solution were: 1/3, 1 (full) and
3 times strength of the Japanese standard nutrient
solution (Enshi-shohou).
The composition
of the
full strength solution in me liter-1 was NO3-N, 16;
NH4-N, 1.3; P, 4; K, 8; Ca, 8; and Mg, 4. Iron was
added
as an iron salt of EDTA
(Ethylenediaminetetraacetic
acid) to produce a concentration
of 3 ppm. The microelements
were added according to Hoagland and Arnon (1950), and the pH of
the solution adjusted to 5.5. The bucket was covered with a reflective
film to prevent
algae
formation and to keep the moisture content high.
The experiment had five replications.
Seedlings of melon, cv. 'Amusu', grown on rockwool cubes were transplanted
into perforated
plas-

and

N. Fukuda

tic cylinders
(14 cm in diam. and 60 cm long) filled with fresh rice hulls. The perforations
allowed
roots to grow into the external nutrient solution.
Melon plants were transplanted
and grown from
March 5 and harvested
on June 26 (crop 1) and
from August 20 to November 19 (crop 2). Customary to a Japanese cultural practice, each plant bore
only one fruit.
During growth period, pH and EC values of the
solutions were checked at regular intervals. At the
end of the experiment,
fresh and dry weights of
leaves, stems and roots, and sizes and sugar contents of fruits were determined.
At the start and
end of the experiments,
nutrient
solutions
were
sampled and analyzed by the following methods:
NO3-N; by ultraviolet
spectrophotometry
(Norman
and Stucki,
1981),
P; by ammonium-vanadatemolybdate-method
on a spectrophotometer,
K, Ca
and Mg; by atomic absorption.
Results

Although the air temperature was very high and


fluctuated
during
the crop 1 period, root zone
temperature
was low and rather stable in this system (Fig. 2).
Leaves
of melon plants grown
in the 1/3
strength nutrient solution became a light green to
yellow 3 to 4 weeks after transplanting
in crop 1
but in 1 week in crop 2. Leaves of plants grown in
the 3 times strength
solution
remained
a dark

Fig.

1. The

passive

hydroponic

system

used in the

green.
The total dry weight of plants in crops 1 and 2
was the highest in the full strength solution (Table
1). In crop 1, the leaf dry weight of plants grown

experiment.

Fig. 2. Air and root zone temperature

during the experiments.

J. Japan. Soc. Hort. Sci. 64 (4) : 839-844. 1996.


in the full strength
solution was almost double
that of plants grown in the 1/3 strength solution
and equivalent
to 60 % of the total dry weight.
The amount of nutrient
solution absorbed
by a

(Fig. 4), whereas in the full and 3 times strength


solutions,
EC increased
after about 5 weeks of
treatment. The former became 6 mScm-1 while
the latter became about 12 mScm-1 by the end of
the experiment.
Analytical data of the solution at the end of the
experiment
showed that the concentration
of all
mineral elemetns in the 1/3 strength solution decreased compared with the initial one (Table 3),
especially, NO3-N which decreased to 4 to 5 ppm.
However, concentration
of mineral elements in the
full and 3 times strength
solutions
increased by
the end of the experiment.

plant ranged from 66 to 92 liter in crop 1 and 64


to 84 liter in crop 2; plants with the higher dry
weight absorbed more solution.
In crop 1, the fresh weight of fruit was the
lowest in the full strength solution and the highest
in the 3 times strength solution (Table 2). Melons
had the highest sugar content and the best apperance in the 3 times strength solution. In crop 2,
however, fruit size did not differ among the treatments and the quality was equally high.
The pH of the solution fluctuated
between 4.5
and 6.5 in crops 1 (Fig. 3); in crop 2, however, pH
of the 1/3 strength solution sharply decreased to
below 4.0 after 7 weeks of treatment. EC of the
1/3 strength
solution
remained
almost constant

Table

1.

Effects

plants

Table

2.
sugar

of initial

and the amount

Effects
content

of initial

concentration
of nutrient

concentration

of melon fruits.

841

Discussion

In general, hydroponics
evolved as a high technology plant production
system until now. The
main advantages
of hydroponics
over all other
types of soil culture are: 1) more efficient nutrient

of the
solution

nutrient

absorbed

of the nutrient

solution

on growth

of melon

by a plant.

solution

on size, fresh

weight

and

842

H. Ikeda,

K. Tagami

Fig. 3. The changes in pH of the nutrient solution during


the experiments as affected by the initial concentrations.

Table

and N. Fukuda

Fig.

4.

Changes

rient

in

solution

the initial

the

electric

during

conductivity

the experiments

of
as

the

affected

nutby

concentrations.

3. Mineral composition of the nutrient solution at the start and end of the experiment. (meliter-1)

regulation, 2) availability
in regions of the world
having nonarable
land, 3) efficient use of water
and fertilizers,
4) ease and low cost of sterilization
of the medium, and 5) higher density planting,
leading to increased yields per acre (Resh, 1993).

The nutrient film technique (NFT), which is a very


simple water culture system, was originally
developed by Sholto Douglas in India in 1973 for
the purpose
of providing
a cheap and simple
means for the local people to grow their own fresh

J. Japan. Soc. Hort. Sci. 64(4) : 839-844. 1996.

843

, vegetables. NFT, however, needs the solution flow


by an electric pump. If a simple passive hydroponic system were developed,
it should become a
very useful technique for the production of vegetable crops, especially
for developing countries. In
1988, Ono reported
his first success with this
system, but since then, little information
has been
reported regarding this system.
The concentration
of the nutrient solution used
for hydroponics
is very important. In crop 1, plant

30 cm and deeper from soil surface in the greenhouse is stable and maintained at 16 to 17 C all

growth was the most vigarous in the full strength


nutrient solution, but the fruit size was the smallest and sugar content the lowest. The crop 1 ex-

ponic system may become an economically useful


and practical production
technique for melons, because plants can be grown with minimum amounts
of water and nutrients,
leaving a small residual
nutrient solution in the reservoir.

periment
demonstrated
that whereas
the fresh
weight of the fruit was low, the amount of water
absorbed
by a plant was high because of the
vigorous
vegetative
growth in the full strength
solution. Only a higher concentration
of the nutrient solution seems to be good for melon production in this season. In Japan, growers
usually
stress melon plants for water several days before
harvest. During that period, the concentration
of
the soil solution becomes very high resulting in an
increase in sugar contents of the fruits (Kano et
al., 1978). In this experiment, increased EC of the
solution was also favorable for increasing
sugar
contents of melon fruits.
In crop 2, however, marketable fruits were harvested from all treatments
which we attribute
to
the depressed vegetative growth as a result of the
cool air temperature.
In the 1/3 strength nutrient solution, about 70
% of the solution was absorbed by plants during
the experiment.
NO3-N concentration
in the solution at the end of the experiment
decreased
by 6
to 7 %. If plants absorb minerals and water at the
same rate, the concentration
of minerals in the remaining
solution
should
not change.
Extreme
lowering of NO3-N concentration
in the solution
means that the NO3-N was absorbed faster than
water by plants. The concentration
of all mineral
elements in the full and 3 times strength solution
increased at the end of the experiment with a corresponding increase in EC readings.
Although the air temperature
became very high
in the daytime in summer the root zone temperature was stable and almost similar to the soil
temperature
in this system, because the solution
reservoirs
in which plant roots grew were laid below the ground surface. The soil temperature
at

year round (Sasaki, 1987). This condition should


be favorable
for plant growth, even in the hot
summer or in the cold winter.
From these results, we conclude that the initial
concentration
of the nutrient
solution is very important in this system. However, more trials need
to be conducted to derive the optimum concentration of the nutrient solution. This passive hydro-

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New handbook on protected


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(In Japanese).


*
305


( ),
,

. 3
,
.
,

* :

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