Mass cultivation of high-value aromatic herbs such as Vietnamese coriander and Persicaria odorata required specific soil, nutrients, and irrigation, mostly found in the limited natural wetland. This study aimed to evaluate the capacity of P. odorata at different densities in nutrient removal and the growth performance of African catfish, Clarias gariepinus in aquaponic systems. P. odorata was cultivated for 40 d with less than 10% water exchange. The effects of increasing crop densities, from zero plants for the control, 0.035 ± 0.003 kg/m2 in Treatment 1, 0.029 ± 0.002 kg/m2 in Treatment 2, and 0.021 ± 0.003 kg/m2 in Treatment 3, were tested on the growth performance of C. gariepinus with an initial density of 3.00 ± 0.50 kg/m3. The specific growth rate (SGR), daily growth rate of fish (DGRf), and survival rate (SR) of the C. gariepinus were monitored. Nutrient removal, daily growth rate of plant (DGRp), relative growth rate (RGR), and the sum of leaf number (Ʃn) of the P. odorata plant were also recorded. It was found that nutrient removal percentage significantly increased with the presence of P. odorata at different densities. The growth performance of C. gariepinus was also affected by P. odorata density in each treatment. However, no significant difference was observed in the DGRp and RGR of the P. odorata (p>0.05), except for Ʃn values. Treatment 1 had the highest Ʃn number compared to Treatment 2 and Treatment 3, showing a significant difference (p<0.05). This study demonstrates that the presence of P. odorata significantly contributes to lower nutrient concentrations, supporting the fundamental idea that plants improve water quality in aquaponic systems.
Pesticides are developed with carriers to improve their physicochemical properties and, accordingly, the bioefficacy of the applied formulation. For foliar-applied herbicide, generally less than 0.1% of the active ingredient reaching the target site could reduce pesticide performance. Recently, a carrier of nanoemulsion consisting of oil, surfactant and water, with a particle size of less than 200 nm, has been shown to enhance drug permeability for skin penetration in pharmaceutical delivery systems. In the present work, the aim was to formulate a water-soluble herbicide, glyphosate isopropylamine (IPA), using a green nanoemulsion system for a biological activity study against the weeds creeping foxglove, slender button weed and buffalo grass.