2017 ASHS Annual Conference

This study was carried out to examine the effect of nutrient solution supply method on vegetative growth of potted Phalaenopsis plants in a closed plant factory system. Three month-old clonal micropropagules of Phalaenopsis 'Blanc Rouge' and Doritaenopsis 'Mantefon' were irrigated once (at 06:00 or 18:00) or twice (at 06:00 and 18:00) with the Ichihashi solution (EC 0.8±0.1 dS·cm^-1 and pH 6.0±0.1) in an ebb and flow (EBB) or aeroponic (AERO) system without medium for 32 weeks. A closed plant factory system was maintained at 28±0.5℃, 70±5% RH, 12/12h (light/dark) photoperiod (lighting for 06:00-18:00) with bar-type warm white LEDs of PPFD 150 μmol·m^-2·s^-1at the plant canopy level. As a result, plants grown in EBB had more and larger leaves in both cultivars and more and longer roots in 'Blanc Rouge' compared with AERO. In addition, physiological disorder and withering less occurred in EBB. Whereas, irrigation timing didn’t significantly influenced vegetative growth. In this study, EBB was the better nutrient solution supply method without medium for both cultivars. However, plants grown in potting media, sphagnum moss or peatmoss, were healthier than ones hydroponically grown without medium in the same system. Therefore, further studies to search more suitable nutrient solution supply method in a closed plant factory system are needed.

Specified Source(s) of Funding: This work was supported by the Advanced Technology Development Project (No. 114148-3), Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Republic of Korea.