Strawberry production linked to aquaculture wastewater treatment

Plug plants (cv. Chandler) and freshly dug plants (cvs Chandler, Oso Grande, and Sweet Charlie) were set in nutrient-film-technique (NFT) troughs and in vertically-stacked square pots and fertigated with aquaculture wastewater. The effluent, pH of 7.2, 6 mg/L total suspended solids, macronutrients (mg/L): NO3-N (17), P (1.2), K (6), Ca (81), Mg (19), S (15), and supplemented with K and micronutrients, was applied at 100 mL/min continuously. Plug plants of 'Chandler' yielded over 600 g/plant from January to March. Freshly dug 'Sweet Charlie' began flowering in late October with the first crop harvested on 7 Dec. These systems reduced P from an inlet concentration of 1.2 mg/L to an outlet concentration as low as 0.1 mg/L. Leaf mineral contents were in the adequate range. The use of hydroponic systems for growing strawberries in fish effluent has a potential for improving quality of aquaculture wastewater to meet stringent phosphorus discharge regulations.