Comparison of Land, Water, and Energy Requirements of Lettuce Grown Using Hydroponic vs. Conventional Agricultural Methods

Comparison of Land, Water, and Energy Requirements of Lettuce Grown Using Hydroponic vs. Conventional Agricultural Methods

The land, water, and energy requirements of hydroponics were compared to those of conventional agriculture by example of lettuce production in Yuma, Arizona, USA. Data were obtained from crop budgets and governmental agricultural statistics, and contrasted with theoretical data for hydroponic lettuc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 12; no. 6; pp. 6879 - 6891
Main Authors: Barbosa, Guilherme Lages, Gadelha, Francisca Daiane Almeida, Kublik, Natalya, Proctor, Alan, Reichelm, Lucas, Weissinger, Emily, Wohlleb, Gregory M, Halden, Rolf U
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 16-06-2015
MDPI
Subjects:
Agriculture - methods
Arizona
Energy
Hydroponics
Lactuca - growth & development
Land
Lettuce
Sustainability
Water
USA, Arizona, Yuma
USA, Arizona
agriculture
land use
hydroponics
lettuce
sustainability
water
Arizona
energy
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Summary:The land, water, and energy requirements of hydroponics were compared to those of conventional agriculture by example of lettuce production in Yuma, Arizona, USA. Data were obtained from crop budgets and governmental agricultural statistics, and contrasted with theoretical data for hydroponic lettuce production derived by using engineering equations populated with literature values. Yields of lettuce per greenhouse unit (815 m2) of 41 ± 6.1 kg/m2/y had water and energy demands of 20 ± 3.8 L/kg/y and 90,000 ± 11,000 kJ/kg/y (±standard deviation), respectively. In comparison, conventional production yielded 3.9 ± 0.21 kg/m2/y of produce, with water and energy demands of 250 ± 25 L/kg/y and 1100 ± 75 kJ/kg/y, respectively. Hydroponics offered 11 ± 1.7 times higher yields but required 82 ± 11 times more energy compared to conventionally produced lettuce. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first quantitative comparison of conventional and hydroponic produce production by example of lettuce grown in the southwestern United States. It identified energy availability as a major factor in assessing the sustainability of hydroponics, and it points to water-scarce settings offering an abundance of renewable energy (e.g., from solar, geothermal, or wind power) as particularly attractive regions for hydroponic agriculture.
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ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph120606879