Aquaculture 2022

February 28 - March 4, 2022

San Diego, California

FROM RESEARCH TO THE FARM: A PARTIAL BUDGET ANALYSIS OF LOW-COST LED LIGHTS FOR PRODUCTION OF BIBB LETTUCE Lactuca sativa var. Capitate IN A COMMERCIAL INDOOR AQUAPONIC SYSTEM

Andrew Lohman*, Janelle Hager, James Tidwell

 

Aquaculture Research Center

Kentucky State University Frankfort, KY 40601

Andrew.lohman1@kysu.edu

 



 A partial budget analysis is a decision-making tool that allows businesses to assess whether a change in production practices will result in an increase or decrease in profits.  For aquaponics (AP) , this tool can be useful  to compare  different  investments  as  equipment costs tends to be high , particularly in colder climates that require artificial grow lights for plant growth. In this study, r esults from previous low-cost LED light research conducted at Kentucky State University were implemented on a semi-commercial indoor AP farm. The farm operates a 15.1 m3 system based on the University of Virgin Islands design with 47.6 m2  of plant growing space, 7.4 m2  of which  was utilized for this research. Four low-cost LEDs (Spider Farmer SF-2000 (SPI), Fluence RAZRx (FLU),  Worldwide 4000K High Bay light (WIDE) and Designers Fountain 3500k (DES) were compared to a high-cost LED control light (Neosol DS (NEO)) for total biomass (g) of Buttercrunch lettuce , Lactuca sativa  var. Capitate produced (Table 1). Each light covered a 1.5 x 1.5 m space, which contained 32 lettuce plants.  Treatments DES and FLU required two lights to cover the grow area, whereas NEO, SPI, and WIDE required one.  Total kWh for each light was recorded daily to determine the operational cost for the treatments and control.  A partial budget analysis was performed to determine the potential net change in profits and benefit/cost ratio for each light as compared to the control. All treatment lights showed had a positive change in net profits and a positive benefit/cost ratio (Table 1) . Results presented here  indicate the viability of low-cost LED lights for an indoor AP farm. Utilizing financial tools for economic analysis and planning, as presented here, can aide farmers make responsible operational decisions to improve profitability.