Enhancing Anthurium (<italic>Anthurium andraeanum</italic>) growth: the impact of oxygen nanobubbles in hydroponic systems.

AbstractResearch on the effects of oxygen nanobubbles (ONBs) in hydroponic cultures has focused on greenhouse crops, while their impact on ornamental plants has been less studied. This study investigated the impact of ONBs on Anthurium (<italic>Anthurium andraeanum</italic> Linden ex André) plants in hydroponic culture. Oxygen nanobubbles, generated using a specialized device, were introduced into the nutrient solution. The results revealed that injecting ONBs not only elevated the dissolved oxygen (O2) concentration (DO) but also exceeded the normal solution level by 3 mg L−1 at 21 °C after 24 h. Interestingly, the decrease in DO followed a logarithmic trend: when above 16 mg L−1, O2 depletion from the solution was faster, whereas below 16 mg L−1, the rate of O2 loss slowed, stabilizing around 8 mg L−1. The findings also demonstrated that ONBs significantly enhanced plant growth and development. Plants treated with ONBs exhibited increased leaf fresh mass (64.00 vs. 55.46 g; <italic>p</italic> < 0.01), leaf dry mass (12.58 vs. 9.92 g; <italic>p</italic> < 0.01), and leaf area (766.58 vs. 646.33 cm2; <italic>p</italic> < 0.01) compared to control plants. Furthermore, ONBs notably raised phosphorus levels in the leaves (3.51 vs. 2.93 mg g−1; <italic>p</italic> < 0.01), enhanced leaf chlorophyll content (41.83 vs. 36.00 unit; <italic>p</italic> < 0.01), and improved photosynthetic activity. The results also indicated that ONBs improved root morphology, increasing both fresh (53.25 vs. 37.03 g; <italic>p</italic> < 0.01), and dry root mass (5.65 vs. 4.51 g; <italic>p</italic> < 0.01). Overall, the study suggests that ONBs have the potential to be a beneficial tool for enhancing plant production in hydroponic setups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]