Advanced Agriculture : Hydroponic Farming

Hydroponic gardening is emerging as a very popular technique since it is very beneficial over traditional

agriculture technique. More people are interested in growing their food,indoors throughout the year with soil less medium.“Have you ever tried to grow a cutting of a plant in a glass of water”? If yes then definitely you have practiced passive hydroponic cloning.In the sector of agriculture day to day many technologies has being arises for increases the quality and quantity of food product. Modern technique likewise poly house hydroponic is one of the best technologies in current scenario which deals with the growing of plant in soil less medium. Hydroponic growing uses mineral nutrient solutions to feed the plant in water without 

soil medium. This technique is no longer limited by climate or by any season.

If you are a plant lover, then you can grow your favorite plant at virtually any time of the year. Hydroponic system is an effective and simple method which is now available with modern technique to grow out plant where you want. Hydroponic does not require a particular season or demand for a specific agro climatic- zone. It offers the people where traditional agriculture won’t possible like arid climate. Hydroponic works even on that area where sunlight not receives. However it is not influenced by the climatic phenomenon because in hydroponic system artificial climate is created. Hydroponic is the subset of hydro-culture which growing of plants in an aquatic based environment. In this system water must be delivered to the plant root system. There are many techniques to deliver water to the root zone. Water is  channeled to a continuous row of a plants within a through, such as in the nutrient film technique. Even although there are different types of hydroponic system but nutrient film technique is an active recovery type hydroponic system. The NFT uses reservoir with a submersible pump that pumps the nutrient solution into a growing tube where the root suspended. The nutrient solution flows over the root upto 2 – 4 hours per day. The temperature of water ,EC and pH range of the nutrient media should be appropriate which leads to increase yield and quality.It’s a controlled environment agriculture system. As compared to greenhouse hydroponic system has high technology and a little capital intensive. It is also a highly productive, conservative of water and land and protective of the environment.Hydroponically grown vegetables contained 50% more vitamin A, B, C, E then conventional crops. Its growing cycle is shorter than conventional crops. It does not require any type of agronomical practices like tilling, ploughing, and mannuring. We can preserve at least 40 % of water as compare to conventional farming as water being recycled. 

Healthy stable plants that produce higher yields are the product of hydroponic technology. LED is basically used for the artificial light.Most of the countries such as Holland, Germany and Australia have used hydroponics for crop production with amazing results.

The growth rate of hydroponic plant is 30-50% faster than a soil plant even if both having the same climatic condition the yield of the plant is also greater. In hydroponic system the plant doesn’t have to search for the nutrients because nutrients are mixed with the water and sent directly to the root system. Extra dissolve oxygen is also helps for the stimulate root growth. Hydroponics requires only a little amount of energy for the breakdown of carbohydrate therefore plant can use the remaining energy for the vegetative growth. Most plant can grow hydroponically within a pH range of 5.8-6.2 pH in a hydroponic system is much easier to check than in the pH of soil. Hydroponics is a versatile technology appropriate for both village and backward production system to high-tech space stations. Hydroponic technology can be an efficient mean for food production in highly populated areas hydroponics can provide locally grown high value crops such as leafy vegetables or cut flowers. The future use of controlled environment agriculture and hydroponics must be cost competitive with those of open field agriculture. Therefore, associated technologies such as artificial lighting, plastics, and new cultivars with better biotic and abiotic resistance will increase crop yields and reduce unit cost of production. Besides economic benefits, hydroponics implies conservation of water, co-generation of energy, income – producing employment for, reducing the impact on welfare rolls and improving the quality of life.Nowadays, development and use of hydroponics has enhanced the economics well- being of many communities both in developing and developed countries.

Light system for Greenhouse

Free standing greenhouses placed away from buildings, trees and other obstructions may not require artificial light most of the time if they are in areas of the country with optimal light conditions. Artificial light is generally used in one of the following two ways or both in the greenhouse:

 1. To provide high intensity light when the natural sunlight available is not sufficient to provide optimal plant growth. 

 2. To extend the hours of natural daylight or to provide a night interruption to maintain the plants on long-day conditions.

 When light is provided at optimal levels, where it was lacking before, it can significantly increase the health, strength, growth rate and yield of plants. Supplementing natural sunlight in a backyard greenhouse allows for the virtual elimination of seasonal and geographical restraints. In addition, by extending the day length with supplemental lighting, can greatly enhance our growing success. 

There are four basic types of lighting available for greenhouse use: 

1. Incandescent 

2. High intensity discharge (HID) fluorescent

 3. Compact Fluorescent Lights 

4. Light emitting diode (LED) lights. 

Incandescent 

Small lamps with incandescent light bulbs can offer intrigue to the greenhouse and provide light for reading or nighttime accent. Incandescent bulbs also work when used in wall fixtures to light greenhouse doorways. Lights known as “Spot Grow” are also available in 75 and 150 watts and can be used to provide supplemental light to single plants. They do, however, produce substantial heat, so care must be taken not to place them too close to foliage. 

High Intensity Discharge (HID) 

There are two types of (HID) lamps: 1. High pressure sodium lamps 2. Metal halide lamps. These lights resemble large incandescent lamps. They are very high wattage and produce light in the red and blue spectrum that are beneficial to various stages of plant growth.

  (a) High Pressure Sodium Lamps are considered to be the best lights available for providing supplemental greenhouse light. The light produced is in the yellow/ red spectrum, which is especially beneficial in promoting flowering/budding in plants. 

    (b) Metal halide lamps are better for use as the primary light source for plants in settings without much natural sunlight. The light produced is weighted in the blue spectrum, which is especially beneficial in promoting vegetative plant growth. They are less popular than HPS lamps for flowering and fruiting, if metal halide lamps are used in flowering stage, they are often of a higher rated power, such as 1000 W, to enhance more red light output.

Conversion lamps are available which have ballasts and fixtures that can be used with either high pressure sodium or metal halide bulbs. This allows for the use of metal halide bulbs for advanced growth and high pressure sodium bulbs during the flowering and fruiting stages. There are two disadvantages that these lights have for greenhouse use. They require large heavy ballasts that are generally separate from the reflectors (light fixtures). These ballasts take up considerable space and generally detract from greenhouse esthetics. These lights also produce considerable heat which may be detrimental to the greenhouse during warmer seasons. The heat requires that the lights be placed a substantial distance (30-36 inches) from plants, which diminishes the light available to the plants. These lights are also more expensive to operate than other light options.

Compact Fluorescent Lights 

The fluorescent lights produce very small amounts of infrared heat. Traditional T12 and T8 fluorescent fixtures are simply not powerful enough to light an area more than 8″ – 10″ below the bulb. This type of light can work for starts and seedlings, or overhead working light, but is a poor light source for growth and budding, primarily because of low lumen output. With the advent of T5 lights which put out over three times the light of traditional florescent fixtures and in warm and cool spectrums, fluorescents can now provide a worthy alternative for greenhouse lights. These new fluorescent lights have the advantage of higher light efficiency with low heat. A common strategy is to mix cool with warm bulbs to provide a full spectrum for plant growth and flowering/fruiting. Although these lights do not match the intensity of HID lamps, the difference in light intensity at the leaf surface, where it matters, is similar due to the fact that the cooler florescent bulbs can be placed much closer (6-18 inches) to plants. Remember that the intensity at plant level decreases exponentially for each inch that lights are raised above the leaf surface.Fixtures for these florescent lights have a much lower profile than HID fixtures, as well as light weight self-contained ballasts.

 Light Emitting Diode (LED) 

One major advantage to the LED lights is the small size. LED lights are only a few inches in diameter and are easy to mount. In some greenhouses, LED lights may be the only practical light option. Hanging most grow lights requires a strong greenhouse structure and a place to hang the lights. LED lights weigh a fraction of other lights and are easy to configure where needed. Additional advantages include the production of very little heat and long life. LED grow lights maximize blue and red light to provide and excellent balance for plants. They do not have much green-yellow light and generally there is no light produced except that which promotes photosynthesis. LED lights consume up to 80% less energy than HID lights and up to 30% less than fluorescents.

TYPES OF GREENHOUSES

Greenhouse structures of various types are used successfully for crop production. Although there are advantages in each type for a particular application, in general there is no single type greenhouse, which can be considered as the best. Different types of greenhouses are designed to meet the specific needs.

GREENHOUSE TYPE BASED ON SHAPES
Greenhouses can be classified based on their shape or style. For the purpose of classification, the uniqueness of the cross section of the greenhouses can be considered as a factor. As the longitudinal section tend to be approximately the same for all types, the longitudinal section of the greenhouse cannot be used for classification. The cross sections depict the width and height of the structure and the length is perpendicular to the plane of cross section. Also, the cross section provides information on the overall shape of the structural members, such as truss or hoop, which will be repeated on every day. The commonly followed types of greenhouse based on shape are Lean-to, Even span, Uneven span, Ridge and furrow, Saw tooth and Quonset.

Lean-to type greenhouse
A lean-to design is used when a greenhouse is placed against the side of an existing building. It is built against a building, using the existing structure for one or more of its sides. It is usually attached to a house, but may be attached to other buildings. The roof of the building is extended with appropriate greenhouse covering material and the area is properly enclosed. It is typically facing south side. The lean-to type greenhouse is limited to single or double-row plant benches with a total width of 7 to 12 feet. It can be as long as the building it is attached to. It should face the best direction for adequate sun exposure. The advantage of the lean-to type greenhouse is that, it usually is close to available electricity, water, and heat. It is a least expensive structure. This design makes the best use of sunlight and minimizes the requirement of roof supports. It has the following disadvantages: limited space, limited light, limited ventilation and temperature control. The height of the supporting wall limits the potential size of the design. Temperature control is more difficult because the wall that the greenhouse is built on, may collect the sun's heat while the translucent cover of the greenhouse may lose heat rapidly. It is a half greenhouse, split along the peak of the roof.

Figure 2.1: Lean-to type green house

Even span type greenhouse
The even-span is the standard type and full-size structure, the two roof slopes are of equal pitch and width. This design is used for the greenhouse of small size, and it is constructed on level ground. It is attached to a house at one gable end. It can accommodate 2 or 3 rows of plant benches. The cost of an even-span greenhouse is more than the cost of a lean-to type, but it has greater flexibility in design and provides for more plants. Because of its size and greater amount of exposed glass area, the even-span will cost more to heat. The design has a better shape than a lean-to type for air circulation to maintain uniform temperatures during the winter heating season. A separate heating system is necessary unless the structure is very close to a heated building. It will house 2 side benches, 2 walks, and a wide center bench. Several single and multiple span types are available for use in various regions of India. For single span type the span in general, varies from 5 to 9 m, whereas the length is around 24 m. The height varies from 2.5 to 4.3 m.

Figure 2.2: Even span green house

Uneven span type greenhouse
This type of greenhouse is constructed on hilly terrain. The roofs are of unequal width; make the structure adaptable to the side slopes of hill. This type of greenhouses is seldom used now-a-days as it is not adaptable for automation.

Figure 2.3: Uneven span green house

Ridge and furrow type greenhouse
Designs of this type use two or more A-frame greenhouses connected to one another along the length of the eave. The eave serves as furrow or gutter to carry rain and melted snow away. The side wall is eliminated between the greenhouses, which results in a structure with a single large interior, Consolidation of interior space reduces labour, lowers the cost of automation, improves personal management and reduces fuel consumption as there is less exposed wall area through which heat escapes. The snow loads must be taken into the frame specifications of these greenhouses since the snow cannot slide off the roofs as in case of individual free standing greenhouses, but melts away. In spite of snow loads, ridge and furrow greenhouses are effectively used in northern countries of Europe and in Canada and are well suited to the Indian conditions.

       

Figure 2.4: Ridge and furrow type greenhouse

Saw tooth type Greenhouse
These are also similar to ridge and furrow type greenhouses except that, there is provision for natural ventilation in this type. Specific natural ventilation flow path develops in a saw- tooth type greenhouse.

                                           Figure 2.5: Saw - tooth  type greenhouse

Quonset greenhouse
This is a greenhouse, where the pipe arches or trusses are supported by pipe purling running along the length of the greenhouse. In general, the covering material used for this type of greenhouses is polyethylene. Such greenhouses are typically less expensive than the gutter connected greenhouses and are useful when a small isolated cultural area is required. These houses are connected either in free, standing style or arranged in an interlocking ridge and furrow.
In the interlocking type, truss members overlap sufficiently to allow a bed of plants to grow between the overlapping portions of adjacent houses. A single large cultural space thus exists for a set of houses in this type, an arrangement that is better adapted to the automation and movement of labour.

 

Figure 2.6: Quonset greenhouse

Organic Agriculture: Sustainable Food Security For Nation

As in this era the people are running in race now the come to know heath is affected by using traditional food and also the increase in population affects the availability of food. Looking towards this the need of organic agriculture arise which also help in to secure food for future.

Despite the growing worldwide demand for organic food, clothing, and other products, the area of land certified as organic still makes up just 0.9 percent of global agricultural land. In 2016, the latest year for which data are available, 43.7 million hectares of land were organically farmed—an area that has grown more than threefold since 1999.

There is large regional variation in the area of land farmed organically is 40 % of global total in 2013 and that percentage increase upto 42%. Oceania, which includes Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Island nations, leads the world in certified organic land, Asia is consuming 8%of the total global area i.e 3.4 million hectare . In contrast, North America had 2.6 million hectares of organic land, and Africa had just over 1 million hectares.

Organic Farming

Organic agriculture includes all agricultural systems that promote the environmentally, socially and economically sound production of food and fibers. Organic farming is a method of crop and livestock production that involves much more than choosing not to use pesticides, fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, antibiotics and growth hormones. By respecting the natural capacity of plants, animals and the landscape, it aims to optimize quantity in all aspects of agriculture and the environment food security.

Producing food sustainablity, as the global population continues to grow and climate change affects land quality worldwide so farming without chemicals will be important in the coming decades. Organic farming has the potential to contribute to sustainable food security by improving nutrition intake and supporting livelihoods in rural areas, while simultaneously enhancing biodiversity and reducing vulnerability to climate change.

"Food security is not only a question of the ability to produce food, but also of the ability to access food”.

Global food production is more than enough to feed the global population, the problem is getting to the people who need it. In market-marginalized areas, organic farmers has increased food production by managing local resources without having to rely on external inputs or food distribution systems over which they have little control or access. It is to be noted that although external agricultural inputs can be substituted by organic management of natural resources. Organic farms grow a variety of crops and livestock in order to optimize competition for nutrients and space between species: this results in less chance of low production or yield failure. This can have an important impact on local food security and resilience. In rain-fed systems, organic agriculture has demonstrated to conventional agricultural systems under environmental stress conditions. Under the right circumstances, the market returns from organic agriculture can potentially contribute to local food security by increasing family incomes.

Yield, input cost and income difference in conventional and organic systems in India price premium 20 percent of gross margin were added in the organic system Increasing income of small farmers will improve food security through food access components. Results showed that there was no difference between organic and conventional cotton in net margin (price premium was not added). However, organic cotton produced slightly more net margin in rain fed conditions though no premium were added. End of the season, organic farmers received 20 percent of their gross margin as premium from Bio-Re private ltd company. Organic farmer’s had higher net income (premium added) in both irrigated and rain fed condition compared to conventional system when organic cotton received premium.

Benefits of Organic Food

Pawan Kumar Chamling, the Chief Minister declared his vision for Sikkim as the country’s first ever organic state. The dream became reality on January 18, 2016 when the PM of India, Narendra Modi declared Sikkim as fully organic state. The farmers required time to adopt the changes in farming habits and adequate support from the state. Gradually, usage of chemical pesticides and fertilizers was prohibited in the state. Laws were made and implemented for the same.Things gained momentum with setting up of ‘the Sikkim Organic Mission Project.’ It helped spread awareness about the benefits of adopting organic farming. Later, Organic farming was included in school syllabus and farmers were extensively trained. Sikkim has clearly benefited in numerous ways. This can serve as a lesson for other states in India where pesticides long banned in developing nations are still used extensively. The yield of various crops and fruits has gone up in Sikkim to an extent.

Future Challenges of Organic Food

Food demand will both grow and shift in the coming decades for three reasons: Increasing numbers of people directly proportional to the demand for food, as steadily falling fertility rates and family sizes, the world population is expected to grow to 8.3 billion by 2025. By this time, 84% of people will be in those countries currently making up the ‘developing’ world As the turnover increases people will have more purchasing power for food. Increasing urbanization means people will be more likely to adopt new diets, particularly consuming more meat, eggs and dairy products – demand for these products is expected to double by 2020 in developing countries, and to increase by 25% in industrialized countries, resulting in a total and per capital increase in demand for cereals.

 Organic farming seems to be a viable option to improve food security of small holding farms by

• Increasing income/decreasing input cost
• Producing more for home consumption
• Adopting ecologically sustainable practices with locally available resources
• But, improvement is needed further for all dimensions of food security

Organic agriculture can contribute significantly to improving food security among smallholder farmers in developing countries, and a large-scale conversion has the potential to reduce the future dependence of food imports in Sub Saharan Africa. However, such a positive scenario depends on well-designed training and extension focusing on building human, natural and financial capital. There is also a huge need for more research and innovation to improve local farming systems and adaptation of agro ecological principles.