Food security and water use are a global concern. As the global population increases and climate change affects agriculture lands, novel farming methods must be adopted if we are to meet the world’s growing food demand. A growing alternative to soil farming is hydroponics. Unfortunately, hydroponics has limited availability of beneficial rhizosphere bacteria. In this study, we are investigating the effect of Abu Dhabi’s local rhizosphere microbes on nutrient uptake by plants grown in a closed hydroponics system. Rhizosphere bacteria from Abu Dhabi soils were isolated and encapsulated in sodium alginate beads in order to quantify the uptake of nutrients from the hydroponic system. In addition, a total microbial community profile metagenomic study is underway to identify community members and individual environmental microbial isolates. This work will help identify Abu Dhabi native microbial isolates designed to optimize nutrient uptake and increase water reuse in closed hydroponic growth systems.

Encapsulation of microbial isolates in alginate beads designed to increase nutrient uptake in hydroponic systems

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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