Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

7-1-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Agricultural, Environmental, and Sustainability Sciences

First Advisor

Veerachandra Yemmireddy

Second Advisor

Robin A. Choudhury

Third Advisor

Daniele Provenzano

Abstract

Food production is a global problem, and this has been further compounded with changes in weather patterns necessitating the need for a sustainable approach to production. Chapter 1 introduces the broad concept of the Control environment agriculture (CEA) and then narrows it doe to the hydroponic system its food safety risks. The CEA has been employed alongside conventional practices methods to improve meet the demand for food without placing pressure on the land available. Foodborne outbreaks have been recorded in the production medium and are therefore susceptible to contamination. In Chapter 2, the study focused on using Lactobacillus rhamnosus and its cell-free supernatant (CFS) to inhibit the survival of pathogens in the hydroponic system while comparing its efficacy to other common sanitizers. The CFS was effective against Salmonella Typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H5 but not Listeria innocua. The study proceeded to apply these treatments on Lettuce to understand the implication of these treatments on plants and the physicochemical properties of the nutrient solution. The CFS treatments showed signs of stunted growth when compared to the control treatment and may not be suitable to be directly applied for pathogen control in a hydroponic growing system.

Comments

Copyright 2024 Esther T. Oginni. https://proquest.com/docview/3115317306

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