Comparative assessment of growth performance and water nutrient of duckweed (Lemna minor) cultured with and without fertilizer in an industrial-scale raceway setting

Kar Gee Wong; Kah Hooi Fong; Rafidah Othman; Yuli Andriani; Asni Anwar; Fui Fui Ching; Shigeharu Senoo

Authors

Kar Gee Wong Higher Institution Centers of Excellence (HICoE), Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Kah Hooi Fong Higher Institution Centers of Excellence (HICoE), Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Rafidah Othman Higher Institution Centers of Excellence (HICoE), Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Yuli Andriani Aquaculture Department, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran. Jl. Raya Bandung Sumedang Km. 21, Sumedang 45363, West Java, Indonesia.
Asni Anwar Aquaculture Study Program, Faculty of Agriculture, Muhammadiyah Makassar University, Jl. Sultan Alauddin 259, Makassar, South Sulawesi 90221, Indonesia.
Fui Fui Ching
cfuifui@ums.edu.my
Higher Institution Centers of Excellence (HICoE), Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Shigeharu Senoo Aquaculture Technology and Production Center, Kindai University, Nishimuro-gun, Wakayama, Japan.

Vol. 14 No. 6 (2026): Accepted articles

Articles

October 17, 2026

Downloads

PDF

Abstract
How to Cite
Metrics
References
License

Duckweed (Lemna minor) has gained increasing attention as a sustainable biomass resource because of its rapid growth and high nutrient-recovery potential. This study investigated the effects of fertilizer application on the growth performance, productivity, and water-nutrient dynamics of L. minor cultured in an industrial-scale raceway system. Two enclosed raceway tanks (29×9×0.5 m) were established under fertilized and non-fertilized conditions and monitored over seven independent production cycles. The experiment was conducted over seven independent production cycles. Growth performance was assessed using final biomass, biomass yield increase, doubling time, relative growth rate (RGR), and productivity, while water quality parameters were analyzed at the end of each culture cycle. Fertilized raceways produced significantly higher final biomass (77.21±26.90 kg), biomass yield increase (451.49±192.13%), RGR (23.62±5.18% day?¹), and productivity (9.03±3.84 kg day?¹) compared with non-fertilized raceways (P<0.05). Fertilizer application also significantly influenced nitrate, nitrite, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, total nitrogen, chemical oxygen demand, pH, and dissolved oxygen concentrations. Lower nitrite and total nitrogen levels in fertilized raceways indicated efficient nutrient assimilation by duckweed. These findings suggest that fertilizer supplementation substantially enhances biomass production and nutrient utilization efficiency, supporting the development of sustainable, large-scale commercial raceway duckweed cultivation systems for biomass generation and nutrient recovery.

Wong, K. G., Fong, K. H., Othman, R., Andriani, Y., Anwar, A., Ching, F. F., & Senoo, S. (2026). Comparative assessment of growth performance and water nutrient of duckweed (Lemna minor) cultured with and without fertilizer in an industrial-scale raceway setting . International Journal of Aquatic Biology, 14(6). Retrieved from http://ij-aquaticbiology.com/index.php/ijab/article/view/2971

Download Citation

Anjur N., Ali J., Shahadan S.A. (2024). Effect of different fertilizers on the growth of duckweed (Lemna minor) as aquatic plant resources utilization in sustaining red tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) culture. E3S Web of Conferences, 479: 03001.

APHA (2023). Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater (24th ed.). American Public Health Association.

Azab E., Soror A.S. (2020). Physiological Behavior of the Aquatic Plant Azolla sp. in Response to Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers. Plants, 9(7): 924-924.

Baek G., Saeed M., Choi H. (2021). Duckweeds: Their utilization, metabolites and cultivation [Review of Duckweeds: their utilization, metabolites and cultivation]. Applied Biological Chemistry, 64(1).

Chakrabarti R., Clark W.D., Sharma J.G., Goswami R.K., Shrivastav A.K., Tocher D. (2018). Mass Production of Lemna minor and Its Amino Acid and Fatty Acid Profiles. Frontiers in Chemistry, 6.

Chen G., Yang F., Huang J., Zhao Y., Li Q., Lai F., Xu Y., Tian X., He K., Jin Y., Tan L., Zhao H. (2018). Duckweed systems for eutrophic water purification through converting wastewater nutrients to high-starch biomass: comparative evaluation of three different genera (Spirodela polyrhiza, Lemna minor and Landoltia punctata) in monoculture or polyculture. RSC Advances, 8(32): 17927-17937.

Coughlan N.E., Maguire D.C., Oommen A.A., Redmond C., O’Mahoney R., Walsh É., Kühnhold H., Byrne E.P., Kavousi F., Morrison A.P., Jansen M.A.K. (2023). On the rise: Development of a multi?tiered, indoor duckweed cultivation system. Water Environment Research, 95(12).

Devlamynck R., de Souza M.F., Michels E., Sigurnjak I., Donoso N., Coudron C., Leenknegt J., Vermeir P., Eeckhout M., Meers E. (2021). Agronomic and environmental performance of Lemna minor cultivated on agricultural wastewater streams—a practical approach. Sustainability, 13(3): 1570.

Gupta C., Prakash D. (2013). Duckweed: an effective tool for phyto-remediation. Toxicological and Environmental Chemistry Reviews, 95(8): 1256-1266.

Hach. (2019). Water analysis handbook (7th ed.). Hach Company, Loveland, Colorado, USA.

Hong C., Wang Z., Wang Y., Zong X., Qiang X., Li Q., Shaghaleh H., Hamoud Y.A., Guo X. (2024). Response of duckweed to different irrigation modes under different fertilizer types and rice varieties: Unlocking the potential of duckweed (Lemna minor L.) in rice cultivation as “fertilizer capacitors.” Agricultural Water Management, 292: 108681-108681.

Jurga A., Jugowicz A., Lipi?ska M.B., Rodziewicz T., Ka?mierczak B. (2026). Duckweed-based systems in the water-energy-food nexus: controlled environment agriculture (CEA) for industrial water reuse and nutrient recovery. Water Resources and Industry, 35: 100343-100343.

Maissour A., Bouqadida M., Oualili H., El Omari R., Belfaiza M., Makroum K. (2023). Characterization of the physico-chemical properties of the natural habitat and in vitro culture effects on the biochemistry, proliferation and morphology of Lemna minuta. BMC Plant Biology, 23(1): 234.

Okwuosa O.B., Eyo J.E., Amadi-Ibiam C.O. (2021). Growth and nutritional profile of duckweed (Lemna minor) cultured with different organic manure. IARJSET, 8(12).

O’Mahoney R., Coughlan N.E., Walsh É., Jansen M.A.K. (2022). Cultivation of Lemna minor on Industry-Derived, Anaerobically Digested, Dairy Processing Wastewater. Plants, 11: 3027.

Pasos-Panqueva J.A., Baker A., Camargo?Valero M.A. (2024). Unravelling the impact of light, temperature and nutrient dynamics on duckweed growth: A meta-analysis study. Journal of Environmental Management, 366: 121721-121721.

Petersen F., Demann J., Salzen J.von., Olfs H., Westendarp H., Wolf P., Appenroth K., Ulbrich A. (2022). Re-circulating indoor vertical farm: Technicalities of an automated duckweed biomass production system and protein feed product quality evaluation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 380: 134894-134894.

Pulido C.R.F., Femeena P.V., Brennan R.A. (2024). Nutrient cycling with duckweed for the fertilization of root, fruit, leaf, and grain crops: impacts on plant–soil–leachate systems. Agriculture, 14(2): 188-188.

Ullah H., Gul, B., Khan, H., Akhtar N., Rehman K.U., Zeb U. (2021). Effect of Growth Medium Nitrogen and Phosphorus on Nutritional Composition of Lemna Minor (an Alternative Fish and Poultry Feed). BMC Plant Biology, 22(1). DOI:10.1186/s12870-022-03600-1

Ziegler P., Adelmann K., Zimmer S., Schmidt C., Appenroth K.-J. (2015). Relative in vitro growth rates of duckweeds (Lemnaceae)—The most rapidly growing higher plants. Plant Biology, 17(S1): 33-41.