AQUA-SAFE: Enhancing safety and security of Aquaponics technology for fish and vegetable cultivation
At a glance
- Project leader : Prof. Dr. Ranka Junge
- Project team : Andreas Graber, Matthias Lutz, Alex Mathis, Ivaylo Nikolaev Sirakov
- Project budget : CHF 90'000
- Project status : completed
- Funding partner : Other
- Project partner : Trakia University Stara Gora, Bulgaria
- Contact person : Ranka Junge
Description
The development of sustainable aquaculture is highly appreciated
and supported by the EU and is also one of the priorities of the
National Strategic Plan for Fisheries and Aquaculture of
Bulgaria.
Aquaponics is a sustainable aquaculture techology which combines
fish and plant production in one recirculating system. In
aquaponics both, warm-water (tilapia), and cold/cool-water fish
species (rainbow trout, arctic charr, Acipenseridae spp.) are
objects of cultivation.The list of plants that can be cultivated in
hydroponics is practically endless.
The questions of food safety and security are gaining global
importance recently. The structure and function of the microbial
community in aquaculture and aquaponics is central for both, the
functioning of the water treatment process, and the food security.
In order to establish Aquaponics as accepted technology, it is
imperative to address these questions. Nevertheless there is still
an alarming lack of studies.
AQUA-SAFE proposes to fill this knowledge gap by studying the
properties of microbial community of Aquaponics operated at
warm-water and cold-water temperature levels.
Rhizosphere microbes can be beneficial for the plants and can form
stable biofilms on the plant’s roots. They either promote directly
the plant growth or they protect the plant against soil-borne
diseases. We hypothesise that these beneficial effects will also
reflect on enhanced water treatment. AQUA-SAFE proposes to improve
the plant-mediated-water treatment process by inoculation of
Pseudomonas fluorescens, a bacteria whose strains improve root and
plant growth and also has antagonistic abilities against some plant
and fish pathogenic microbes.
The effects of bioaugmentation will be studied in mesocosm
Aquaponic systems, using cold/cool- water fish species, and
vegetable varieties with a well established cultivation protocol,
such as tomato and cucumber.