Aquaponics is the term used to describe the interaction between the growing of fish and the growing of plants by using nutrients produced by the fish to feed the plants. Although still in its infancy in South Africa, it is consistent with the principle of maximising resource usage, minimising costs and maximising benefits. A pilot plant was established at the ARC’s Roodeplaat Dam station to develop an understanding of the influences and the management of integrated systems, using Tilapia and grow bag drip / nutrient film irrigation practices.

The research identified that the density of fish was the key driver to growth of plants and that too high a density caused water quality issues and reduced growth rate of the fish. Plant growth results indicated that better yields were obtained from nutrient film or gravel bed techniques rather then drip bag irrigation.