Global Advanced Research Journal of Agricultural Science (GARJAS) ISSN: 2315-5094
July 2015 Vol. 4(7): pp. 315-324
Copyright © 2015 Global Advanced Research Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Integrated culture of shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa) using diluted seawater: management, production and water consumption

Fierro-Sañudo J.F.,^1,8 Alarcón-Silvas S.G.,¹ León-Cañedo J.A ^1,7 Gutiérrez-Valenzuela J.G.,² Ramírez-Rochín J.,² Mariscal-Lagarda M.M.,³ Franco-Nava M.A.,⁴ Lizárraga-Jiménez R.,⁵ Osuna-López J.I.⁶ and Páez-Osuna F.^1,7,9

¹Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología. UNAM, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, México.

²Posgrado en Ciencias en Recursos Acuáticos, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, UAS, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, México.

³Universidad Estatal de Sonora, Benito Juárez, Sonora, México.

⁴Instituto Tecnológico de Mazatlán, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, México.

⁵Facultad de Agronomía, UAS, Culiacán, Sinaloa, México.

⁶Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, UAS, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, México.

⁷Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, UNAM, Unidad Académica Mazatlán, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, México.

⁸Posgrado en Ciencias Agropecuarias, Colegio de Ciencias Agropecuarias, UAS, Culiacán, Sinaloa, México.

⁹ Miembro de ElColegio de Sinaloa

*Corresponding Author’s Email: paezos@ola.icmyl.unam.mx; Tel: +52 669 9852845; Fax: +52 669 9826133

Accepted 13 July, 2015

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the production and water consumption of an integrated culture system using shrimp (L. vannamei) as the main culture, and lettuce and two types of tomato as the secondary cultures. Diluted seawater (1.9 g/L) and zero-water exchange tanks were used. The experiment was conducted in the Experimental Module YK located in Mazatlan Sinaloa, Mexico, over a 30-week period. The system employed in the present research consisted of three tanks for shrimp culture and the lettuce crop and four hydroponic beds for the tomato crops. The vegetable production was compared with a hydroponic treatment (control), whereas the shrimp production was contrasted with traditional shrimp monoculture. In the integrated shrimp culture, survival was 90.1 ± 7.1%, the final individual weight was 9.1±0.1 g and the yield was 1.9 ± 0.2 kg/tank (6,131±588 kg/ha). The tomato production per plant, number of tomatoes per plant and yield were significantly (P <0.05) lower than the values obtained for plants irrigated with a nutrient solution (control). While the average individual weight of tomato fruit did not differ significantly (P> 0.05) between the control and integrated culture system, greater lettuce production was obtained using irrigation water from the shrimp tank. The estimated water consumption for the system was 0.68 m³/kg of biomass produced (for harvested shrimp, tomato and lettuce). The integrated shrimp-tomato-lettuce system is viable, but it is necessary to conduct research to determine the best plant: shrimp ratio to improve production and optimize water use.

Keywords: integrated culture, Litopenaeus vannamei, vegetables, yield, water consumption.