116-13 Application of Numerical Simulations for Optimization of Soilless Culture Systems.

See more from this Division: SSSA Division: Soil Physics and Hydrology
See more from this Session: 5 Minute Rapid--Soil Physics and Hydrology Student Competition (Includes Poster Session)

Monday, November 7, 2016: 3:00 PM
Phoenix Convention Center North, Room 132 B

Mohammad R Gohardoust1, Jing An1, Asher Bar-Tal2, Hadar Heller2, Michal Amichai3, Ty Paul Ferre4 and Markus Tuller5, (1)Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
(2)Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, Bet-Dagan, Israel
(3)Institute of Plant Nutrition and Physiology, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel
(4)Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
(5)Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Abstract:
With the global population projected to grow to more than 8 billion by 2024, irrigated agriculture faces momentous challenges to keep up with the increasing demand for adequate food supplies, especially in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. As a result, soilless culture is regaining increased attention as it allows a more sustainable management of production resources along with higher achievable crop yields when compared to conventional agricultural production. To aid with the design of sustainable soilless production systems, we performed comprehensive physicochemical characterization of commonly employed soilless substrates such as perlite, volcanic tuff, coconut coir, Growstones, and mixtures thereof in conjunction with numerical modeling (HYDRUS-3D) of water and nutrient transport to not only provide design guidelines for growth module geometry and irrigation management, but also to optimize substrates by mixing organic and inorganic constituents at different ratios. To simulate water transport, a realistic root water uptake model for tomatoes was implemented based on feedback from greenhouse growth experiments. Non-equilibrium solute transport considering first-order decay reactions to predict NH4+, NO3–, and H3PO4 transport was simulated to provide feedback for fertigation management. Preliminary results will be presented and the potential of obtained findings for the design of soilless systems will be discussed.

See more from this Division: SSSA Division: Soil Physics and Hydrology
See more from this Session: 5 Minute Rapid--Soil Physics and Hydrology Student Competition (Includes Poster Session)