ISO/TS 23016-1:2019

Fine bubble technology - Agricultural applications - Part 1: Test method for evaluating the growth promotion of hydroponically grown lettuce

This document specifies a test method for evaluating the effect of fine bubble water on the growth promotion of hydroponically grown lettuce by estimating the incremental gain in mass of the stems and leaves over a specified growth period.

Technologie des fines bulles — Applications agricoles — Partie 1: Titre manque

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 19-May-2019
• ICS: 07.030 - Physics. Chemistry
• ICS: 65.020.20 - Plant growing
• Technical Committee: ISO/TC 281 - Fine bubble technology
• Drafting Committee: ISO/TC 281/WG 3 - Applications of fine bubble technology
• Current Stage: 9599 - Withdrawal of International Standard
• Start Date: 23-Jul-2025
• Completion Date: 13-Dec-2025

Relations

• Revised: ISO 23016-1:2025 - Fine bubble technology - Agricultural applications - Part 1: Test method for evaluating the growth promotion of hydroponically grown lettuce
• Effective Date: 02-Mar-2024

Overview

ISO/TS 23016-1:2019 - Fine bubble technology - Agricultural applications - Part 1: Test method for evaluating the growth promotion of hydroponically grown lettuce.
This ISO technical specification defines a standardized test method to evaluate the effect of fine bubble water on the growth promotion of hydroponically grown lettuce. The standard measures the incremental gain in mass of stems and leaves over a specified growth period, enabling objective comparison between a fine-bubble treatment and a raw-water control.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Scope and purpose: Quantify growth promotion of lettuce by comparing harvested mass between a fine-bubble section and a control section.
• Test system configuration: Two-line setup - one line supplied with fine bubble water (mixed with fertilizer) and one control line with raw water; tanks, circulation pumps and hydroponic beds are described.
• Fine bubble specification: Bubbles < 100 μm in diameter are required; ultrafine bubbles (< 1 μm) are preferred where available.
• Environmental and operational controls:
  • Continuous operation of the fine bubble generating system during the entire test period.
  • Controlled water supply and laminar flow in tanks (gas-barrier surfaces preferred).
  • Monitoring of air quality and environmental parameters to avoid abnormal impacts on lettuce growth.
• Measurements and instruments:
  • Monitor atmospheric temperature, CO2, relative humidity, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and PPFD (photosynthetic photon flux density).
  • Use a calibrated weighing scale with 0.1 g readability for mass of stems and leaves.
• Test design and sampling:
  • Sample size formula and harvesting window are specified ((N + 2) × 10 stems per test line; harvest between N and N+1 weeks after sprouting).
  • Preliminary reproducibility checks and actions when statistically significant differences occur.
• Reporting and calculation:
  • Procedures for calculating the degree of growth promotion and required contents of a test report.
  • Informative annexes provide example results and recording formats.

Applications and users

Who should use ISO/TS 23016-1:

• Hydroponic growers and plant factory operators validating growth-enhancement technologies.
• Fine bubble system manufacturers and suppliers assessing product performance.
• Agricultural researchers and test labs performing controlled trials on aeration technologies.
• Procurement specialists, certification bodies and investors seeking objective performance data.

Practical benefits:

• Provides repeatable, comparable data on lettuce yield improvements.
• Facilitates market trust and technology adoption by standardizing performance claims.
• Helps optimize fine bubble system operation and integration into hydroponic systems.

Related standards

• ISO 20480-1 - Fine bubble technology: terminology.
• ISO 20480-2 - Fine bubble technology: categorization of attributes.
• Part of the ISO 23016 series developed by ISO/TC 281 (Fine bubble technology).

Keywords: fine bubble technology, hydroponics, lettuce growth, ISO/TS 23016-1:2019, growth promotion test method, plant factory, ultrafine bubbles.

Standards Content (Sample)

TECHNICAL ISO/TS
SPECIFICATION 23016-1
First edition
2019-05
Fine bubble technology — Agricultural
applications —
Part 1:
Test method for evaluating the
growth promotion of hydroponically
grown lettuce
Reference number
©
ISO 2019
© ISO 2019
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
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ii © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Test method for growth promotion performance on lettuce . 2
4.1 Conditions of test environment . 2
4.2 Test system and related apparatus . 2
4.3 Materials for test . 4
4.4 Preparation for test . 4
4.4.1 Confirmation of the working conditions of the fine bubble line system . 4
4.4.2 Hydroponic bed system . 4
4.4.3 Operator(s) and inspector(s) . 5
4.4.4 Operation manual . 5
4.5 Preliminary test for confirmation of reproducibility . 5
4.5.1 General. 5
4.5.2 Confirmation of reproducibility . 5
4.5.3 Actions when there is a statistically significant difference . 5
4.6 Test procedure . 5
4.6.1 Preparation of lettuce seedling . 5
4.6.2 Growth system . 5
4.6.3 Sampling. 5
4.6.4 Records . 6
4.6.5 Number of tests . 6
4.7 Calculation of degree of growth promotion . 7
4.8 Test report . 7
Annex A (informative) Example of test results for lettuce growth promotion performance .8
Annex B (informative) Example of recording format for measurement figures of
environmental parameters .11
Bibliography .12
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
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ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www .iso .org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
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on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www .iso .org/patents).
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expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www .iso
.org/iso/foreword .html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 281, Fine bubble technology.
A list of all parts in the ISO 23016 series can be found on the ISO website.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/members .html
iv © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

Introduction
The recent progress in the application of fine bubble technology exhibits successes in the various
technical fields such as environmental technology in water and washing and cleaning technology for
mechanical engineering. The applications for agro- and aqua- farming and food industrial field also
draw high interests of markets in view of fine bubble enabled performance in enhancing growth of
agro- and aqua- products, improving their quality, saving resources for farming and ensuring safety
of the food products. Various industries engaged in such products are introducing the fine bubbles to
their farming field by applying fine bubble generating systems, eventually creating new market for the
generating systems.
However, since technology transfer from fine bubble technology to technology fields of agro- and aqua-
farming and food industries is not well supported by common understanding of the fine bubbles or their
generating technology, results of evaluation on fine bubble enhanced performance cannot be accepted
commonly by both generating system suppliers and its users at the transaction scene. Furthermore,
a variety of agro- and aqua- farming products makes it difficult to adopt a systematic approach for
selection and application of generating systems.
The performance evaluation based on objective evidence resulting from standardized procedures
is intended to bridge the two technologies and facilitate diverse fields of applications for fine bubble
technology in the global market. In order to accelerate sound global market formation, development of
test procedures is urgently demanded by both technology stakeholders.
This document is intended to meet these needs by specifying the test procedure to be applied to the
generating system for agro- and aqua- farming and food industries uses. The evaluation is made by
applying fine bubble water generated by the object system to lettuce and by measuring its growth. The
product, lettuce, is globally accepted and the yielded test data represents the performance of the tested
system over other products in such major product family as, for example, leaf vegetable. The growth
process of lettuce is much simpler than other vegetables making the measuring process much easier in
the test procedure. The specified test conditions, namely the environment for growth, are also easy to
be controlled allowing many testing plants globally available. The parameter measured is the change in
the harvested mass of lettuces with application of fine bubbles compared to that without application in
a specified period of growth.
Since the performance in terms of parameters is improving rapidly as the technology evolves, the
quantitative criteria for the testing are not specified in this document.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION ISO/TS 23016-1:2019(E)
Fine bubble technology — Agricultural applications —
Part 1:
Test method for evaluating the growth promotion of
hydroponically grown lettuce
1 Scope
This document specifies a test method for evaluating the effect of fine bubble water on the growth
promotion of hydroponically grown lettuce by estimating the incremental gain in mass of the stems
and leaves over a specified growth period.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 20480-1, Fine bubble technology — General principles for usage and measurement of fine bubbles —
Part 1: Terminology
ISO 20480-2, Fine bubble technology — General principles for usage and measurement of fine bubbles —
Part 2: Categorization of the attributes of fine bubbles
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 20480-1 and ISO 20480-2 and
the following apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https: //www .iso .org/obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at http: //www .electropedia .org/
3.1
plant factory
facilities which allow systematic growth and production of plants where the internal environment
conditions, e.g. temperature, carbon dioxide, and liquid fertilizer are controlled
3.2
fine bubble generating system
system which mechanically generates fine bubbles (bubbles less than 100 μm in diameter) using
water and air
3.3
fine bubble water
water including fine bubbles and used in plant factories (3.1)
3.4
raw water
tap water or water with equivalent quality level provided to produce fine bubble water (3.3) and used as
the control water for the reference
3.5
fine bubble section
area to grow plants using fine bubble water (3.3)
Note 1 to entry: For the purpose of this document, plants grown are lettuces.
3.6
control section
area to grow plants using raw water (3.4) as a reference for fine bubble section (3.6)
Note 1 to entry: For the purpose of this document, plants grown are lettuces.
3.7
liquid fertilizer
liquid used as nutrient to grow plants
3.8
culture solution
solution containing liquid fertilizer (3.7) supplied to hydroponic cultivation system
3.9
photosynthetic photon flux density
PPFD
number of photons per unit of time and area, which are contained in 400 nm – 700 nm of wave length
needed for photosynthesis
4 Test method for growth promotion performance on lettuce
4.1 Conditions of test environment
4.1.1 Water supply. Sufficient water supply shall be provided to circulate the water in the piping of the
hydroponic bed and the tank.
4.1.2 Air quality. There shall be no significantly abnormal values that would have impact on lettuce
growth, compared with normal air composition.
4.1.3 Operation of growth promotion
...