This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.

Unclaimed
Caroline Blanchard
Department of Horticulture, Auburn University, 101 Funchess Hall, Auburn, AL 36849, USA

Honors and Awards

The user has no records in this section


Career Timeline

The user has no records in this section.


Short Biography

The user biography is not available.
Following
Followers
Co Authors
The list of users this user is following is empty.
Following: 0 users

Feed

Journal article
Published: 09 June 2021 in Horticulturae
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Using aquaculture effluent (AE) to fertigate plants is gaining popularity worldwide. However, in substrate-based systems, the choice of substrate is essential due to their effects on crop productivity. Differences in the retention of nutrients by substrates makes it necessary to assess suitability for use in AE. This study was conducted from January to July in 2016 and September to October in 2019 to evaluate greenhouse-grown Beit Alpha cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. ‘Socrates’) performance fertigated with AE in pine bark or perlite substrates, grown either as one plant or two plants per pot. A 2 × 2 factorial arrangement in a randomized complete block design with four replications for each season was used. The substrate effect on yield in 2016 depended on the density and season. The pooled yield over seasons in 2016 showed pine bark had a significantly higher yield than perlite by 11% in one plant per pot but lowered by the same amount in two plants per pot. In 2019, pine bark significantly reduced the leachate pH in both plant densities and reduced the leachate EC by about 15% in two plants per pot. The foliar boron was occasionally below sufficiency whilst manganese was above sufficiency in pine bark due to its inherently low pH. We conclude that the effect of the substrates on cucumber yield fertigated with AE is dependent on the season and the number of plants per pot. Therefore, due to the local availability of pine bark, it could be a potential substitute for perlite especially when using one plant per pot for AE. In addition, pine bark could be used as an intermediate substrate to reduce the pH in AE for downstream use.

ACS Style

Emmanuel Ayipio; Daniel Wells; Mollie Smith; Caroline Blanchard. Performance of Greenhouse-Grown Beit Alpha Cucumber in Pine Bark and Perlite Substrates Fertigated with Biofloc Aquaculture Effluent. Horticulturae 2021, 7, 144 .

AMA Style

Emmanuel Ayipio, Daniel Wells, Mollie Smith, Caroline Blanchard. Performance of Greenhouse-Grown Beit Alpha Cucumber in Pine Bark and Perlite Substrates Fertigated with Biofloc Aquaculture Effluent. Horticulturae. 2021; 7 (6):144.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Emmanuel Ayipio; Daniel Wells; Mollie Smith; Caroline Blanchard. 2021. "Performance of Greenhouse-Grown Beit Alpha Cucumber in Pine Bark and Perlite Substrates Fertigated with Biofloc Aquaculture Effluent." Horticulturae 7, no. 6: 144.

Journal article
Published: 21 April 2021 in Food Microbiology
Reads 0
Downloads 0

The FDA Produce Safety Rule states that water used for irrigation purposes, likely to come into contact with the edible portion of fruit and vegetables, must not exceed a defined limit of Escherichia coli populations. Although aquaponics has not been included in this guideline, it is worth investigating to establish a baseline for facilities to reference in produce production. Two microbial assays were performed, one a decoupled media-based aquaponics system over one year and another on a decoupled nutrient film technique (NFT) aquaponics system over 16 days. Water was sampled from each system over time to analyze changes of E. coli and coliforms. The geometric mean (GM) and statistical threshold variable (STV) were calculated based on E. coli populations from the irrigation source in each system. From the first experiment, it was determined, based on the FDA Produce Safety Rule, that E. coli must be monitored more closely from June to January as they were above the advised limit. The second experiment determined that E. coli and coliforms in the water significantly decreased over 16 days. Water should be held for 8 d and up to 16 d to reduce the likelihood of foodborne pathogens to contaminate produce.

ACS Style

Jennifer Dorick; Michelle Hayden; Mollie Smith; Caroline Blanchard; Emefa Monu; Daniel Wells; Tung-Shi Huang. Evaluation of Escherichia coli and coliforms in aquaponic water for produce irrigation. Food Microbiology 2021, 99, 103801 .

AMA Style

Jennifer Dorick, Michelle Hayden, Mollie Smith, Caroline Blanchard, Emefa Monu, Daniel Wells, Tung-Shi Huang. Evaluation of Escherichia coli and coliforms in aquaponic water for produce irrigation. Food Microbiology. 2021; 99 ():103801.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jennifer Dorick; Michelle Hayden; Mollie Smith; Caroline Blanchard; Emefa Monu; Daniel Wells; Tung-Shi Huang. 2021. "Evaluation of Escherichia coli and coliforms in aquaponic water for produce irrigation." Food Microbiology 99, no. : 103801.

Journal article
Published: 04 February 2020 in Horticulturae
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Decoupled aquaponic systems are gaining popularity as a way to manage water quality in aquaponic systems to suit plant and fish growth independently. Aquaponic systems are known to be deficient in several plant-essential elements, which can be affected by solution pH to either increase or decrease available nutrients. To determine the effect of pH in a decoupled aquaponic system, a study was conducted using aquaculture effluent from tilapia culture tanks at four pH treatments: 5.0, 5.8, 6.5, and 7.0, used to irrigate a cucumber crop. Growth and yield parameters, nutrient content of the irrigation water, and nutrients incorporated into the plant tissue were collected over two growing seasons. pH did not have a practical effect on growth rate, internode length or yield over the two growing seasons. Availability and uptake of several nutrients were affected by pH, but there was no overarching effect that would necessitate its use in commercial systems. Nutrient concentrations in the aquaculture effluent would be considered low compared to hydroponic solutions; however, elemental analysis of leaf tissues was within the recommended ranges. Research into other nutrient sources provided by the system (i.e., solid particles carried with the irrigation water) would provide further information into the nutrient dynamics of this system.

ACS Style

Caroline Blanchard; Daniel Wells; Jeremy Pickens; David Blersch. Effect of pH on Cucumber Growth and Nutrient Availability in a Decoupled Aquaponic System with Minimal Solids Removal. Horticulturae 2020, 6, 10 .

AMA Style

Caroline Blanchard, Daniel Wells, Jeremy Pickens, David Blersch. Effect of pH on Cucumber Growth and Nutrient Availability in a Decoupled Aquaponic System with Minimal Solids Removal. Horticulturae. 2020; 6 (1):10.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Caroline Blanchard; Daniel Wells; Jeremy Pickens; David Blersch. 2020. "Effect of pH on Cucumber Growth and Nutrient Availability in a Decoupled Aquaponic System with Minimal Solids Removal." Horticulturae 6, no. 1: 10.