Abstract
Controlled environment chamber experiments were conducted with 'TU-82-155' and 'Georgia Jet' sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.)], grown in either modified half Hoagland (MHH) nutrient solution (control treatment) or in a nutrient medium composed of 20% effluent from an aerobic bioreactor (Filtrate Treatment). Plants were grown for 120 days with a day/night cycle of 14 h at 28°C and 10 h at 22°C. The filtrate used in this study was filtered (0.2 ?m) effluent from the bacterial degradation of residual biomass from hydroponic culture of sweetpotato. Plant tissue analysis showed differences in elemental composition between plants grown in control and filtrate-amended crop nutrient media. Control plants for both 'Georgia Jet' and 'TU-82-155' were high in K (4736 ± 167 and 3693 ± 202 mg 100 g-1 plant dry weight, respectively). The filtrate-treated plants were higher in Fe (3.9 ± 0.8 mg 100 g-1 dry weight), and lower in most macronutrients, for 'TU-82-155'. Generally, filtrate incorporation in the crop nutrient medium resulted in reduced levels of the selected elements (Ca, Mg, K, Zn, Fe, and total Kjeldahl N) in 'TU-82-155'. For 'Georgia Jet', although nutrients levels were also reduced, when filtrate was added to the nutrient solution, the difference was, generally, not significant.
