Methods improving practical implementation of technology of combined recirculating fish farming and intensive crop production

Abstract

The article focuses on the problem of adopting the effective methods for combined cultivation of food products in cities, which requires the rapidly deployable and scalable aquaponic urban farms for year-round cultivating the aquaculture and crop products. Experimental work on cultivating the agricultural products in a small-sized system of combined recirculating fish farming and intensive crop production (aquaponics) has been carried out. A well-grounded idea of the qualitative and quantitative requirements for feed formulations, the possibilities of their optimization due to including the ingredients of natural origin was obtained. With combined recirculating fish farming and intensive crop production the control over the physiological state of the aquatic organisms grown on feed on their own formulation is carried out on the analysis of special biochemical parameters, which complement the general characteristics of the limits of reference values of homeostasis constants and determine the physiological status of fish. Feeding rates (% of body weight) of fish determine the amount of organic load for nutrition of plant growing objects, in particular leafy greens. In the course of research it was found out that when feeding sterlet (100 g) with the developed feed with protein content 45% the feeding rate is 4% of the body weight. The equivalent area 1 m2 with leafy greenery accounts for 40–50 g of feed with a mass of water bodies up to 5.0 kg/m3.