Assessment of Different Aged Strawberry Growing Media Through Monitoring the Residual Nutrients Amount in Drainage of Hydroponic System

Abstract

In elevated hydroponic system, the physical and chemical characteristics of growing media used affects the quality of strawberries, which requires research on the reusability of growing media is needed for stable income of farmers. Therefore, in this study, the nutrient retention capacity of the growing media was indirectly confirmed by analyzing the content of minerals in the supply and drain of the nutrient solution used in elevated hydroponic system, and the possibility of long-term use of the growing media was investigated by comparing and analyzing the concentration of minerals according to the number of years of use. Strawberries used in this experiment were officially established as 'Solhyang' on September 1, 2018, and the supply and drainage water of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year cultivation system were collected 11 times at intervals of 2 weeks, depending on the number of years of use of the growing media. It was used for the analysis of the content of minerals, and the difference in the content of minerals in the supply and drainage was calculated as ∆ value. As the year of use of the growing media increased, the pH and EC values decreased, and the pH decreased to the level of 3.9 -4.9 in the third-year growing media. In addition, the ∆ value of phosphorous of macro essential elements showed a tendency to decrease in the third-year growing media, whereas the ∆ value of calcium showed a tendency to decrease as the years of use increased. In the case of boron, iron, and zinc, which are included in micro essential elements, ∆ value tends to decrease as the number of years of use of the growing media increases.