Basil (Ocimum sp.) is a commercially important herb that has been coupled with several aquatic organisms in aquaponic systems. The goal of this literature review was to aggregate the current knowledge on the status of basil production in aquaponic systems, by identifying the different aquatic organisms cultured with basil, hydroponic subsystems, cultured basil species/varieties, and address research gaps. Of the one hundred reviewed publications, about 90% of the reviewed publications used sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) and only three publications used a different basil species; holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum), lime basil, (Ocimum Americanum), or lemon basil, (Ocimum africanum). Of the publications that used sweet basil, Genovese was the most commonly used variety (21 articles), followed by Italian large leaf (6 articles) and purple ruffles (4 articles) varieties. Between the reviewed publications, 38.7% used deep water culture (DWC), 31.1% used media bed (MB), and 17.9% used nutrient film technique (NFT) to grow basil. Tilapia was the most commonly cultured species with basil in aquaponic systems (44%), followed by catfish (14%) and carp (9%; Figure 1). The amount of feed for tilapia Oreochromis sp. cultured per square meter of grow space per day ranged between 20.3 and 81.6g. Values ranged between 29.2-68.9g of fish feed/m2 grow space/day while culturing Pangasius sp., 20-25 g of fish feed/m2 of grow area/day while culturing catfish (Ictalurus sp.), and 4.4-16.9 g of fish feed/m2 of grow area/day while culturing carp (Cyprinus sp.). The variability in the fish feed-to-plant ratio suggests a need for establishing a recommendation for a species-specific optimal feed input that supplies sufficient nutrients for basil. The current review suggests further investigations comparing different basil varieties, cultivating different basil cultivars with different fish or crustacean species, using alternative hydroponic types, and evaluating feed inputs for establishing a recommendation for species-specific optimal conditions in aquaponic systems.
Keywords: aquaponics, aquatic organisms, basil varieties, basil cultivars, feed amount as a function of grow bed area.