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Research Article

Water Use Efficiency in Two-Tier Aeroponic Vertical Strawberry Farming with LEDs
Hyebin An1
,
Jin Woo Nam1
,
Byeong Han Lee1
,
Kyong Hee Joung1
,
Gil Seog Park1
,
Sang Seok Oh2
,
Ju Young Lee3*
1Digital Agriculture Research Center, Gyeongnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services, Jinju 52733, Korea
2Department of Future Agricultural Education, Gyeongnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services, Jinju 52733, Korea
3Smart Farm Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Gangneung 25451, Korea
*Corresponding Author
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Abstract

Improving water use efficiency (WUE) while maintaining stable productivity is a major challenge in controlled environment agriculture. This study evaluated water balance, WUE, and yield performance of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch. cv. ‘Seolhyang’) grown for 180 days in a closed two-tier aeroponic vertical system under lighting from LEDs. The target PPFD for the LEDs was 300 µmol·m‒2·s‒1, while measured canopy PPFD at strawberry positions averaged approximately 280 µmol·m‒2·s‒1 in both tiers. Total water input was 54.0 m3; 16.2 m3 (30.0%) was recovered, UV-C-treated, and reused, giving net water consumption of 37.8 m3. Total fruit yield was 225 kg. WUE was defined as fruit yield divided by water input and was 4.17 kg·m‒3 on a supplied-water basis and 5.95 kg·m‒3 on a net-consumption basis. CO2 was maintained at 400 ± 50 ppm during the cultivation period. Daytime tier-level microclimate monitoring showed upper/lower tier values of 22.8 ± 0.5°C/21.2 ± 0.5°C, 62 ± 3%/68 ± 3% RH, and 1.05 ± 0.1/0.78 ± 0.1 kPa air VPD. More than 50% of total water input and more than 65% of total fruit yield occurred during the reproductive period. Tier WUE was 4.32 and 4.03 kg·m‒3 in the upper and lower tiers, respectively. Because the study used one pilot-scale system, tier differences are presented as quantitative system observations rather than formal treatment effects.

Keywords
controlled environment agriculture
indoor cultivation
nutrient recirculation
reproductive stage
transpiration
vapor pressure deficit
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Information
  • Publisher :KOREAN SOCIETY FOR HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국원예학회
  • Journal Title :Horticultural Science and Technology
  • Journal Title(Ko) :원예과학기술지
  • Received Date : 2026-04-07
  • Revised Date : 2026-05-23
  • Accepted Date : 2026-06-02
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7235/HORT.20260018
Journal Informaiton Horticultural Science and Technology Horticultural Science and Technology
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