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The cascade hydroponic system has been validated under pilot-scale greenhouse conditions, demonstrating consistent performance in reducing nutrient leaching and improving water and nutrient use efficiency, indicating readiness for further upscaling and market-oriented validation (TRL 6–8). The next development steps focus on advancing the system towards commercial deployment.

The cascade hydroponic system is highly replicable across different greenhouse contexts, as it relies on standard hydroponic components and operating principles already widely used in commercial horticulture.

Through experimental trials, the project determined an optimal cultivation ratio for major crops (tomato and cucumber) with recommended secondary crops (melon and cherry tomato) of 1:0.4 m². This provides a clear guideline for scaling the cascade system while maintaining nutrient and water efficiency. These standardized ratios, together with defined crop pairing strategies and nutrient management protocols, ensure consistent performance and reproducibility across sites.

The cascade hydroponic system is designed to deliver long-term sustainability benefits. By significantly reducing nitrogen and phosphorus leaching and improving water and nutrient use efficiency, the system supports environmental sustainability through lower pollution and resource consumption.

Its design enables adoption across multiple greenhouse types and markets, ensuring that the benefits can be consistently reproduced. This scalability also opens opportunities to create economic value for growers and technology providers, while contributing to sustainable food production in alignment with EU Green Deal and Farm to Fork objectives.