Abstract
Some of the most pronounced effects of climate change on agricultural output include the depletion of freshwater resources and heightened salinization of arable land, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, adversely affecting crop yields. Many economic vegetable crops including members of the brassica family are sensitive to salt-stress. The use of organic soil amendments such as biochar and compost as complimentary nutrient sources in the sandponics system can improve the performance of crops. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of organic amendment on the growth performance and yield of broccoli and Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) under brackish water utilization. There were eight treatments, (sand, sand + biochar, sand + compost, sand+ compost + biochar) which received either fresh or brackish water irrigation. Freshwater with a salinity level of 400 ppm and brackish water of 3500 ppm were used to rear tilapia fish and the water was eventually used to irrigate the crop beds established with different growing media. The result of this study shows that there are no significant differences in the yield of broccoli irrigated with freshwater (FW); FW compost+ biochar gave the highest yield 14.29t/ha, followed closely by FW compost with 14.07t/ha, FW biochar 13.93t/ha and the control was 13.31t/ha. In contrast, broccoli irrigated with brackish water (BW) showed significant differences in yield; the treatment BW compost + biochar gave the highest yield of 13.36 t/ha, followed by BW compost with 12.2t/ha, BW biochar with 11.54t/ha and control recorded 10.27t/ha in yield. Our study concluded that; brackish water when used with compost and biochar in broccoli production in our sandponics system improve crop yield without having adverse effect on the nutritional composition.
School
School of Sciences and Engineering
Department
Center for Applied Research on the Environment & Sustainability
Degree Name
MS in Sustainable Development
Graduation Date
Winter 1-31-2025
Submission Date
1-27-2025
First Advisor
Hani Sewilam
Committee Member 1
Essam Mohamed Shaban
Committee Member 2
Mahmoud Zeid
Committee Member 3
Walid Fouad
Extent
100 p.
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval
Not necessary for this item
Recommended Citation
APA Citation
Oyebode, G.
(2025).Evaluating the Performance of Broccoli (Brassica Oleracea var. Italica) in the Sandponics System Using Brackish Water with Biochar and Compost [Master's Thesis, the American University in Cairo]. AUC Knowledge Fountain.
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2467
MLA Citation
Oyebode, Gabriel. Evaluating the Performance of Broccoli (Brassica Oleracea var. Italica) in the Sandponics System Using Brackish Water with Biochar and Compost. 2025. American University in Cairo, Master's Thesis. AUC Knowledge Fountain.
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2467