Ms.

4545
ULTRA- VI OLET RADI ATI ON FOR THE I NACTI VATI ON
OF MI CROORGANI SMS I N HYDROPONI CS
by G. BUYANOVSKY, J. GALE
The Jacob Blaustein Institute f or Desert Research,
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Sede Boqer, Israel
and N. DEGANI
Nuclear Research Center,
Negev POB 9001, Beer Sheva, Israel
KEY WORDS
Hy d r o p o n i c s I n a c t i v a t i o n of mi c r o- or ga ni s ms Ul t r a - vi ol e t r a d i a t i o n
SUMMARY
The growth of microorganisms in the nut ri ent solution of a circulating hydroponi c system was
suppressed by ultra-violet radiation, Applied for three hours daily (572 Jm -2 h - l ) t hroughout
experiments in which t omat o and corn were grown, it was effective in reducing the popul at i on of
microorganisms from between 500-800.103 to 10-50.103 cells per ml.
I NTRODUCTI ON
Circulating hydroponic systems have recently been reintroduced for greenhouse
agriculture. Little is known of the microorganisms in such cultures 3. Rheinberg
and Shaw 6 reported that root systems had about the same microorganism count
in hydroponics as in soil. An ever present threat in such systems is the very rapid
dissemination of disease by the circulating fluid. Inactivation of the microorgan-
isms in the nutrient solution will not necessarily affect the sessile rhizosphere
population, but may prove a means for reducing the rate of spread, allowing time
for more conventional treatment.
Ultra-violet (UV) sterilisation appeared attractive as a means for reducing the
microorganism level as it can be applied at a point, is an effective disrupter of
major biological molecules 4 and is much less expensive and is safer than
alternative X or gamma ray radiations.
131
Pl ant and Soil 60, 131-136 (1981). 0032-079X/81/0601-0131500.90.
9 1981 Martinus Nijhoff/Dr W. Junk Publishers, The Haoue, Printed in The Netherlands
132 G. BUYANOVSKY, J. GALE AND N. DEGANI
MATERI ALS AND METHODS
The model hydr oponi c syst em 2 consi st ed of 40 by 40 cm channel s t hr ough whi ch a nut r i ent sol ut i on
(Nut ri col pr oduced by Fert i l i zers and Chemi cal s Ltd. , Haifa, Israel)* ci rcul at ed at a r at e of 13 l / mi n.
The vol ume of t he ear at ed nut r i ent sol ut i on was 6001. Nut r i ent and p H levels were adj ust ed
periodically.
The UV sterilizer, TAMI - 10 (Netiv Hal amed- He Indust ri es, POB Hael a, Israel)* was fitted wi t h 2
UV l amps, each of 16 wat t s. At a flow r at e of 13 l / mi n, t he exposur e t i me was about 1.2 seconds and t he
t ot al dose of fluence was about 440 J m- 2 for each pass t hr ough t he UV unit. Thus each uni t vol ume of
sol ut i on was exposed t o t he UV source about 1.3 t i mes per hour , recei vi ng about 572 J m- 2 h - 1 .
Toma t o (Lycopersicon esculentum) and cor n (Zea mays) were gr own dur i ng t he course of t hese trials.
Pl at e count t echni que 5 was used t o est i mat e t he number of mi cr oor gani sms. Sampl es of nut r i ent
sol ut i on were t aken f r om out si de of t he r hi zospher e zone before and after oper at i on of t he UV unit.
They were di l ut ed and pl at ed on Difco Nut r i ent Agar. Test s for fungi were made on Chapek- Dox agar
acidified to pH 4.5 wi t h citric acid.
RESULTS
Fig. 1 shows the effect of a short peri od of r adi at i on on t he mi crobi al popul at i on.
Mos t i nact i vat i on occurred wi t hi n the first 3 hours. Onl y a rel ati vel y smal l
T
E
0
X
._1
- - I
I L l
0
400
3 0 0
2 O0
. 1 I I
2 4 6
~ _ L . . . . I 1 . . . . J
8 I0 12 24
Fig. 1.
RADI ATI ON, HOURS PER DAY
The effect of dur at i on of UV r adi at i on on t he level of mi cr oor gani sms in a ci rcul at i ng
nut r i ent sol ut i on cont ai ni ng cor n pl ant s.
Each poi nt average of 4 sampl es.
* Mention of a product does not imply preference.
U L T R A - V I O L E T R A D I A T I O N I N H Y D R O P O N I C S 133
furt her i nact i vat i on occur r ed aft er 3--4 hours. The effect of 3 days of cont i nuous
r adi at i on is shown in Fig. 2. As al so shown in Fig. 1 the shar pest dr op (80-90~o)
occur r ed dur i ng the first few hours. On t er mi nat i on of the i r r adi at i on (at the
begi nni ng of day 4) the popul at i on rose wi t hi n a few hours. I n this and sub-
sequent trials the popul at i on level of sampl es t aken f r om the out l et of t he UV unit
was about 30 times l ower t han t hat of sampl es t aken f r om the ent r y poi nt ,
i ndi cat i ng mor e t han 96~ i nact i vat i on.
The l engt h of t i me of UV r adi at i on affected the numbe r of mi cr oor gani sms not
onl y dur i ng the r adi at i on peri od, but al so t hr ough the i nt erval s bet ween the
Fig. 2.
T
E
0
X
200
150
I00
50
U V t r e a t m e n t
I i i
I 2 3
f
I
4
D a y s o f t h e e x p e r i m e n t
The effect of 3 days continuous UV radiation on the level of microorganisms in a circulating
nutrient solution containing corn plants.
Vertical bars - standard errors. N = 4.
134 G. BUYANOVS KY, J . GAL E AND N. DE GANI
r adi at i on peri ods. Dur i ng these i nt erval s a subst ant i al recovery in t he numbe r of
mi cr oor gani s ms occurred. The r at e of recovery of mi cr oor gani sms was i nversel y
pr opor t i onal t o the l engt h of the pr ecedi ng r adi at i on peri od. Very little i nact i vat -
i on resul t ed f r om 1 hour dai l y i rradi at i on. After t wo hour s of daily r adi at i on the
mi cr obi al popul at i on at the end of t he peri od of recovery was 75~o of the initial,
and wi t h 3 hour s r adi at i on about 25-30~o.
A t est of the i nact i vat i on of mi cr oor gani sms by UV r adi at i on under nor mal
wor ki ng condi t i ons was carri ed out for 135 days. The ci rcul at i ng nut ri ent
sol ut i on was t reat ed for 3 hour s daily, for five consecut i ve days per week, while
t omat oes were grown. Results obt ai ned are pr esent ed in Fig. 3.
~s expect ed, a shar p decrease in the numbe r of mi cr oor gani sms, t o about 10~o
of the initial (800. 103 cells, ml - 1), fol l owed 3 hour s of UV r adi at i on on t he first
9 0 0 [
c o o t
x
100
5 0 - ,
3 O
I 0
5 I 0 15 2 0 2 5 3 0 5 0 5 5 125 130 135
DAYS OF THE EXPERIMENT
Fig. 3. The effect of 3 hours daily UV radiation, given during 5 consecutive days per week for 135
days, on the level of microorganisms in a circulating, nutrient solution containing tomato plants.
Days with radiation marked by t hi ck line; Thi n line = days without radiation.
Vertical bars - standard errors. N = 4.
UL T R A- VI OL E T R ADI AT I ON I N HYDR OP ONI C S 135
day. Duri ng the following interval of 21 hours wi t hout radiation, the popul at i on
rose to about 50~o of the initial level. The next radi at i on period, on the second
day, reduced the popul at i on to less t han 3~ of the initial number. Fr om the third
day on, the microbial popul at i on of the circulating solution varied between
5. 10 3 cells, ml - 1 at the end of the 3 hour daily radi at i on period to about 60- 103
cells, ml - 1 before the next radi at i on treatment. Duri ng each 2-day weekend
interval, the popul at i on of mi croorgani sms increased markedl y to about
125.10 3 cells .m1-1.
Between days 60-110, the UV unit was worki ng regularly and the response
curve was similar to t hat obt ai ned before. After day 110, the UV unit did not
operate for 10 days, and the cell count increased to 180 x 103 ml - 1. When UV
radi at i on was restored, the mi croorgani sm count fell again, as shown.
The number of fungal propagules was found to be one t ent h to one hundr edt h
of the number of bacterial cells, and also fell sharply duri ng UV radiation.
DI S C US S I ON
The daily application of 3 hours of UV radi at i on to a circulating nut ri ent
solution of a hydroponi c system, was effective in deactivating mi croorgani sms
duri ng an entire growing period, in which t omat oes and corn were cultivated.
Cont i nuous radi at i on did not give better results t han 3 hours daily radiation.
Radi at i on induced mutagenesis in the mi croorgani sms of the hydroponi cs
system may be of concern. UV fluence affects mutagenesis and i nact i vat i on in the
same manner 7. This means t hat with increasing UV fluence less mi croorgani sms
will survive, but mutagenesis will be increased in an exponential relationship to
UV fluence. This may be expressed by an i nduct i on of resistance. This raises the
question of whether it is preferable to irradiate with very high fluence, to mai nt ai n
low survival and suffer relatively high mutagenesis, or to apply lower radi at i on
fluence which will result in considerably lower mutagenesis but at a cost of higher
popul at i on levels of microorganisms.
In this work (Fig. 3) we used a regime of 3 hours daily radi at i on (1,716
J m- 2 day 1). This was done to reduce the risk of dangerous mut at i ons appearing
(apart from the economi c reason of saving energy).
A further poi nt to be considered is the selectivity of the UV treatment. It is
possible t hat beneficial mi croorgani sms 1 (which may count eract pat hogens and
breakdown root exudates) are affected more t han pathogens. There was no
indication of such an effect here, but this point requires further study.
The UV unit TAMI-10, which is adapt ed for circulating systems, was easy to
operate, reliable and inexpensive with respect to energy, cost and installation.
136
ULTRA-VIOLET RADIATION IN HYDROPONICS
Since hydroponic systems are not sterile there is no absolute guarantee against
pathogens, but the effective inactivation by UV radiation considerably reduces
the risk of rapid dissemination from one plant to another. This allows time for
more conventional treatment of any disease which may break out.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work has been supported by a grant from the National Council for Research and Development
(Israel) and the KFK, Karlsruhe, West Germany.
Received 24 September 1980. Revised December 1980
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