Objectives :
• To cultivate vegetables and fruits from own home with the help of a Hydroponics VertiCulture Technique.
• To design and develop an algorithm for automated system to mix proper nutrients with water for the Hydroponics VertiCulture.
• To design an IoT architecture with suitable sensors for automated watering, and monitoring of crops.
Innovative Elements/Components of the project:
• Nutrients Tank for feeding water to vegetables and fruits.
• Automatic system to mix proper nutrients with water.
• Android App to monitor this IoH system like Watering, Plant growth, Nutrients level, Water level, Temperature, Humidity, and Lighting.
Outcome/Deliverables :
• Automated Watering system for hydroponics system
• Internet monitoring and control (using Android app, Web)
• Compact and cost-effective Hydroponics VertiCulture system
• Cultivation of vegetables and fruits for household needs
Equipment:
Basic sensors like pH, TDS, Temperature, Humidity, Lighting, Pressure,etc.
Raspberry Pi, Arduino board, wifi-Relay, soldering kit, plumbing kit, PVC pipes with connectors (used items)
Seeds, nutrients, water tank, wifi valve, Wifi router, internet, computer
Methodology:
When land is not needed to cultivate crops, 70 percent of insects are avoided so the use of pesticide is reduced. Selecting suitable soil and preparing it for cultivation is more difficult. It takes lot of time and cost for maintenance also. Minimum manpower is needed for hydroponics techniques for supervising, weeding, watering, applying pesticide, preparing manure, and nutrients.
In the Hydroponics VertiCulture system, a high grade PVC pipe to fabricate water, nutrients and crops. It saves water from evaporation. The nutrient solutions feed the plants with all the necessary nutrients like calcium, nitrate (nitrogen), potassium, phosphate (phosphorus), magnesium, sulfur, iron, manganese, zinc, copper, boron, and molybdenumfor growth and development. The NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) system is built with high grade PVC pipe to provide space for the growth of individual plants, through which nutrient solution flows at a consistent rate. It is used primarily in the cultivation of greens, herbs, and other short-term crops. Intensive lighting is not needed and proper greenhouse design for light admittance is required.
In Hydroponics, the irrigation and drainage layout depends on the discharge required or expected and the slope. The design covers the sizing and selection of pumps, hydroponic troughs, pipes and laterals depending on the crop water requirement, over-irrigation to prevent accumulation of salts, and the irrigation scheduling algorithm. The drain water tank, UV treatment unit and the treated storage water tank were sized according to the amount of drain water from each trough. The amount of water and nutrients recycled was used to establish the efficiency of the system.Hydrants (Water with nutrients) define a combination of both valve and a meter in one compact body. The meter is included to calculate and indicate volumes of water. The hydrants are automatically operated to control the flow required for the irrigation of Hydroponics using electric solenoids. In that case other accessories can also be fitted to control other hydraulic parameters such as a pressure reducing accessory. These all are controlled and monitored by IoT sensors and Web or Android App.
Justification to implement this project:
The yield of greens and veggies in hydroponics is 10 times more than the yield of veggies in open field farming using soil based agriculture. In the past decade, greens and veggies have gained importance as an income generating crop in high potential urban areas. These crops were ranked first in the prioritization of vegetable crop value chains. Production was mainly under open field conditions until the adoption of modified high tunnels popularly known as ‘green houses’ in the last five years. Greenhouses provide more farming area as arable farm sizes have been decreasing over the years due to increasing population. The use of greenhouses is also likely to attract trained youths to practice farming since it’s perceived as a fashionable technology.
Novelty/uniqueness of the proposal:
1. Aqua-Ferti Tank:
It has 500- 2000 Liter capacity, with Water level sensor and controller. Connected to Nutrients tank, and has In-built stirrer setup to mixing water and nutrients.Program for provide required amount of nutrients depends on prescribed nutrients level.It has Solenoid valve to control watering and nutrients using IoT.
2. Compact Hydroponics setup:
Drop downhill hairpin bend design are proposed for IoH setup. It is developed with respect to count of crops and its variety. Automatically Drained water are pumped up to main water tank using water level sensors.
3. IoT Sensors and data virtualization:
Design Cost effective IoT Sensors and customized open source Android App for Internet of Hydroponics. Develop a program or software to acquire IoT sensors data and stored local server and cloud. Then this data will analyze by machine learning algorithm for more inferential data. It will be used for future enhancement of IoH system.
Potential impact around the globe:
Vertical farming is considered as a modern tool for feeding large world population by year of 2050. Vertical farming accordingly discounts the value of natural landscape in exchange for the idea of "skyscraper as spaceship." Urban family can to do agriculture, and IoH can provide the opportunity to cultivate their own delicious food. Customized setup and easy to assemble and extend wherever needed.
