Effect of Aquaculture Wastewater on the Growth of Two Leafy Vegetables (Celosia argentea and Corchorus olitorius)

Abstract

Abstract
Aquaponics, a bio-integrated system that links aquaculture with agriculture appear to be an excellent way of disposing aquaculture wastewater, saving water, and providing liquid fertilizers to agricultural crops. This study was carried out to evaluate aquaculture wastewater performance on two vegetable (Celosia argentea and Corchorus olitorius) compared with production using poultry manure. Two treatments were used in the production of the two leafy vegetables between March and May, 2015. Aquaculture waste was manually collected from the culture of Heteroclarias, the hybrid of {Clarias gariepinus (9 ) x Heterobranchus bidorsalis (d ) (CG X HB)} and supplied to the crops (Treatment 1). The second group (Treatment 2) was grown using poultry manure which was constantly mixed with tap water before application and the control was grown using only tap water. All plants were grown in silt soil — no nutrient. Growth parameters of the plants were measured at harvest to examine the effects of each treatment. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference (p>0.05) in growth rates of Corchorus olitorius for both treatments (aquaponics and poultry manure) but a significantly (p<0.05) higher growth rate in aquaponics than poultry manure system in Celosia argentea production. The study showed that Celosia argentea and Corchorus olitorius may be grown in an aquaponic system at rates comparable to conventional vegetable (crop) production (using poultry manure), as long as fish stocking densities are high enough.