Investigating physiological characteristics of mint in the Raft aquaponic system and perlite medium

Aquaponic is a combination of fish and plant cultivated in recirculating systems. Fish culture in closed recirculating systems causes organic waste accumulation in the system. If these metabolites are used for plant nutrition, they are not mere waste, but have economical value and however benefit the fish production systems. Most aquaponic systems are designed as perlite-filled media, thin layer of nutrient solution, or Raft system. Photosynthesis parameters and water relations are good indexes for recognition of healthy plants and are used as tools for studying physiological conditions of plants. In this experiment, mint plants were cultivated in Raft aquaponic system and perlite medium. In Raft system, plant roots were suspending in water and absorbed water from pot bottom. Whereas in perlite system, roots were in the perlite medium and irrigation water was applied from top of the pots. The plants grown in Raft system showed mineral elements’ deficiency as leaf chlorosis. Photosynthesis and water parameters analysis showed that photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration, mezophyll efficiency, water use efficiency and photosynthesis active radiation were higher in the plants grown in perlite than in raft aquaponic system. On the other hand, stomatal conductance, leaf temperature and sub-stomatal CO2 were higher in the raft aquaponic system than perlite medium. Thus, due to better physiological conditions of mint plants, perlite medium might yield better results compared to raft aquaponic system.