Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) culture in vermi-aquaponic systems: III. Strategies for sustainable and economic development: Co-cultivation with aquatic species

Abstract

Under optimized biological and technical conditions, aquaponics provides more advantages than conventional (soil-based greenhouse) and hydroponic cultivations as the result of reusing the wastewater and thereby improving energy, water and nutrient use efficiency, productivity, financial gain, as well as plant and ecosystem health. Tomato is one of the most consumed nutritive vegetables and a good model plant for developing aquaponic techniques. Optimizing the interacting species-specific responses, biological activities and operations management have the potential to maximize the performance of aquaponics. Hence, prospects of developing strategies by optimizing biological activities, water exchange and filtration intervals in integrated biofloc technology with recirculating aquaculture systems have been discussed to prevent over-accumulation of toxic elements and promote nutrient recovery. Successful strategies of co-cultivation methods are discussed to enhance sustainability, productivity and, thus, economic values of aquaponic systems during tomato production.