Growing Media Affects Biomass-Water Use Efficiency Trade-Off in Sub-Surface Irrigated Pak Choi (Brassica rapa L. subsp. chinensis)

Ahmad Tusi; M. Reihan Andri H; Elhamida Rezkia Amien; Winda Rahmawati

doi:10.2478/agri-2025-0017

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Growing Media Affects Biomass-Water Use Efficiency Trade-Off in Sub-Surface Irrigated Pak Choi (Brassica rapa L. subsp. chinensis)

Agriculture (Pol'nohospodárstvo)

Volume 71 (2025): Issue 4 (December 2025)

By: Ahmad Tusi, M. Reihan Andri H, Elhamida Rezkia Amien and Winda Rahmawati

Open Access

|Jun 2026

Abstract

Efficient water use is crucial for the sustainable production of leafy vegetables under limited water resources. This study evaluated the trade-off between biomass production and water use efficiency (WUE) in pak choi (Brassica rapa L. subsp. chinensis) grown under a sub-surface capillary irrigation system across three growing media: rice husk charcoal (RHC), sand (SPM), and cocopeat (CPT). A completely randomised design with three replications was used over a 24-day growth period. Results showed that while CPT produced the highest total biomass (108.8 g/plant) and canopy area (472.8 cm²), these vegetative parameters were not significantly different across media (p > 0.05). In contrast, water relations varied significantly; SPM achieved the highest water productivity (87.8 kg/m³), representing a 34.4% improvement over CPT (p < 0.05). Root biomass and length also varied significantly among media. No significant linear correlation was found between vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and daily evapotranspiration (ETc) for any growing medium (|r| ≤ 0.101, p > 0.05). These findings highlight a trade-off between biomass yield and water efficiency. For water-limited systems, SPM is recommended; for balanced performance, RHC is suitable. The hypothesis that a mixture of CPT and SPM could optimise both biomass yield and water conservation requires direct testing in future studies.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/agri-2025-0017 | Journal eISSN: 1338-4376 | Journal ISSN: 0551-3677

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Language: English

Page range: 201 - 212

Submitted on: Nov 18, 2025

Accepted on: Jun 11, 2026

Published on: Jun 6, 2026

Published by: National Agricultural and Food Centre

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

Keywords:

cocopeat,

sand,

rice husk charcoal,

sub-surface irrigation,

pak choi,

water use efficiency,

Related subjects:

Ecology,

© 2026 Ahmad Tusi, M. Reihan Andri H, Elhamida Rezkia Amien, Winda Rahmawati, published by National Agricultural and Food Centre
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Volume 71 (2025): Issue 4 (December 2025)