Effect of microbubbles in deep flow hydroponic culture on Spinach growth
ABSTRACT Microbubbled air may be efficiently supplied to the culture solution, since microbubbles are more efficiently dissolved in water than millibubbles. To establish an enhanced air supply method in the hydroponic culture of vegetables, microbubbles were applied using the deep flow technique to a hydroponic culture system of spinach. Spinach was cultivated in culture solution treated microbubbles for 21 days, then harvested and measured growth and concentrations of inorganic components and chlorophyll in the leaf blade. The results showed that microbubbles applied to the culture solution promoted the growth of spinach more than that by millibubbles. Using microbubbles, cultivars maintained a high concentration of dissolved oxygen at the middle growth stage, during which the dissolved oxygen concentration in the culture solution was reduced by the active root respiration. This result suggests that microbubbles are more effective than millibubbles in the hydroponic culture of vegetables.