Irrigation Cycle Optimization and Water Management in Stevia Production in Vertical Hydroponic Systems

Aydın Ozan Çetintaş; Halit Apaydın; Burak Kunter; Özlem Turan; Irmak Çakın; Kadriye Yaprak Kantoğlu

doi:10.24925/turjaf.v14i8.2167-2177.8988

Authors

Aydın Ozan Çetintaş Department of Agricultural Engineering, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Ankara University, 06110, Ankara, Türkiye https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4574-6573
Halit Apaydın Department of Agricultural Engineering, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Ankara University, 06110, Ankara, Türkiye https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9875-7321
Burak Kunter Nuclear Energy Research Institute, Turkish Energy, Nuclear and Mineral Research Agency (TENMAK), 06980, Ankara, Türkiye https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8546-7480
Özlem Turan Nuclear Energy Research Institute, Turkish Energy, Nuclear and Mineral Research Agency (TENMAK), 06980, Ankara, Türkiye https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8621-0959
Irmak Çakın Nuclear Energy Research Institute, Turkish Energy, Nuclear and Mineral Research Agency (TENMAK), 06980, Ankara, Türkiye https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8886-5348
Kadriye Yaprak Kantoğlu Nuclear Energy Research Institute, Turkish Energy, Nuclear and Mineral Research Agency (TENMAK), 06980, Ankara, Türkiye https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7247-9116

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24925/turjaf.v14i8.2167-2177.8988

Keywords:

Stevia rebaudiana, Vertical farming, Hydroponic irrigation , Water use efficiency , Phenolic content

Abstract

Vertical hydroponic systems are becoming a key component of sustainable agriculture by enabling year-round production in limited space and closed-loop water management. In this study, the effects of irrigation cycling on the growth, biomass, biochemical quality, and water use efficiency of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni in vertical hydroponic systems were investigated. The experiment was conducted under four irrigation cycle conditions—each defined by a different off-time per tower (H1: 150 s, H2: 300 s, H3: 450 s, H4: 600 s) with a fixed 15-second on-time—in four independent towers each with 21 planting slots. Seedlings obtained from the same individual were distributed in a balanced short-to-long arrangement to standardize initial conditions. The 300-second off-time group (H2) achieved the highest values in dry biomass (1.90 ± 1.04 g/plant), total phenolic content (7.14 ± 0.34 mg gallic acid equivalents/g), DPPH antioxidant activity (5.90 ± 0.15 mmol Trolox equivalent/g), and yield-based water use efficiency (3.17 g/L). The group with the longest off-time (H4: 600 s) reduced water consumption but fell notably behind in biomass and quality parameters. Stem length on day 30 showed a strong Spearman correlation with dry weight (ρ = 0.873, p < 0.001), suggesting that non-destructive dimensional measurements can serve as practical biomass predictors. The findings demonstrate that a 300-second off-time simultaneously optimizes growth, biochemical quality, and water efficiency in vertical hydroponic Stevia production, and indicate that irrigation cycle design should consider product quality and biomass yield integrity alongside water savings.

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