Growth of Hydroponic Sweet Basil ( O. basilicum L.) Using Plasma-Activated Nutrient Solution (PANS)

Manasi B. Date, W. C. Rivero, Juzhong Tan, David Specca, James E. Simon, Deepti A. Salvi () and Mukund V. Karwe ()
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Manasi B. Date: Department of Food Science, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
W. C. Rivero: Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA
Juzhong Tan: Department of Food Science, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
David Specca: Rutgers EcoComplex, Clean Energy Innovation Center, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
James E. Simon: Department of Plant Biology, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
Deepti A. Salvi: Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA
Mukund V. Karwe: Department of Food Science, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-19

Abstract: Hydroponic sweet basil ( O. basilicum L.) farming uses a recirculating nutrient solution that may spread waterborne microbial contamination including algae. Plasma, the fourth state of matter, generates antimicrobial reactive oxygen and nitrogen species when exposed to water. The objective of this work was to study the effect of plasma-treated water-based nutrient solution on plant growth and in reduction of algae. Basil plants were grown in isolated ebb and flow hydroponic systems (under monitored environmental conditions) using nutrient solution (NS) and plasma-activated nutrient solution (PANS) with two separate treatments: the same irrigation solutions were used in the growth cycle (Treatment 1: NST1 and PANST1 once at the beginning growth cycle) and new irrigation solutions at every week of the growth cycle (Treatment 2: NST2 and PANST2). The plant growth parameters (height, fresh and dry weight, number of branches and nodes, root length, leaf index), quality parameters (color, texture, aroma, and tissue nutrients concentration), and algae concentrations were measured. Compared to NST1, plants grown on PANST1 were significantly taller (up to 12%), had a higher fresh mass (up to 29%) and dry mass (up to 45%), and had a higher greenness value (up to 28%). Algae growth was significantly reduced in the PANST2 reservoir (up to 24%) compared to the NST2 reservoir. It was confirmed that Treatment 1 significantly improved the yield, morphology, and quality of sweet basil plants, while Treatment 2 was best suited to decreasing algae concentration in the hydroponic environment. This preliminary study indicated that PANS could improve the quality and growth of sweet basil in hydroponic farming while controlling the algae growth in the growing environment.

Keywords: plasma-activated nutrient solution; plasma agriculture; hydroponics; sweet basil (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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