The Effectiveness of Automated Sonic Bloom Method in An IoT-Based Hydroponic System

One of the solutions for food security is planting using hydroponic method and to increase productivity and help hydroponic grow faster and facilitate in monitoring hydroponic growth, sonic bloom and Internet of Things (IoT) are two technologies that can be used. However, in previous studies, the two systems have not been interconnected. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the combination of the two systems mentioned, hence creating an automated sonic bloom method in an IoT-based hydroponic system. To test the proposed method, this system is implemented with bok choi as the hydroponic plant using the DFT technique. The automated sonic bloom is embedded to the IoT system with DF Player Mini module, RTC module, and speakers. The evaluation is done by comparing growth parameters and the crop parameters. The results show that the system with sonic bloom produces fresh weight of 0,44-0,56 g and dry weight of 0,21–0,33 g. The mentioned results are superior to the system without sonic bloom, where fresh weight is 0,17–0,25 g and dry weight is 0,08–0,13 g. It can be concluded that the IoT-based sonic bloom system is effective in increasing the growth rate and hydroponic production rate.

Mitigating Effects of Beta-Carotene on Hydroponic Growth and Productivity of Amaranthus Hybridus L. under Aluminium Toxicity Induced Stress

Aluminium (Al) toxicity is one of the major sources of environmental stress that limit plant growth and productivity in many acidic soils, especially in the tropics and sub-tropics. Al toxicity subsequently leads to food insecurity in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Though plants can synthesize their antioxidants; the need exists to investigate whether under Al toxicity-induced stress; beta-carotene (β-Carotene) supplementation could ameliorate the stress situation and enhance growth and productivity. A 3× 10− 2 mM aluminium chloride (AlCl3) at pH 4.6 was used to stress plants. β-Carotene was extracted from carrots and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine its peak absorbance at 295 nm. β-Carotene's activity was determined using the thiobarbituric acid method. The effects of 50 and 200 µM concentrations of β-Carotene on the hydroponic growth of Amaranthus hybridus, subjected to Al stress, were evaluated in this study. Pre- and post- β-Carotene treatments were applied to A. hybridus seedlings before and after Al treatment for 72 h. Results showed that post- β-Carotene treatments significantly ameliorated plants from Al stress when compared to pre- β-Carotene treatments. Higher doses of β-Carotene significantly increased leaf number, plant height, length and number of inflorescence, fresh and dry weights of shoot, root and inflorescence but significantly decreased root length. The present study suggests that plants of A. hybridus were susceptible to Al toxicity-induced stress and post-β-Carotene supplementation could significantly ameliorate the stress situation and enhance growth and productivity. However, intrinsic antioxidants could be adequate for plants not subjected to stress.

A method for reclaiming nutrients from aquacultural waste for use in soilless growth systems

The aim of this work was to develop a method that allows the recovery of nutrients from aquaculture sludge, not only to alleviate the disposal problem, but also to address the future scarcity of non-renewable fertilizers. This method includes two steps: Nutrient mobilization using aerobic digestion followed by solids precipitation using chitosan as the flocculant. The aerobic digestion experiments were conducted in aerated batch reactors, while a jar test apparatus was used to assess the capacity of chitosan to remove total suspended solids (TSS) and turbidity. During aerobic digestion, the concentration of soluble N (sum of NH4-N, NO2-N, NO3-N) increased from 181 mg/L at the start to 890 mg/L after three weeks, and to 903 mg/L after four weeks and solids removal by chitosan flocculation. The corresponding concentrations for soluble P were 8.2 mg/L at start, 110 mg/L after three weeks of aerobic digestion, and 160 mg/L after four weeks of aerobic digestion and chitosan flocculation. Other macronutrients (K, Ca, Mg, S) and micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn, B, Cu, Mo) were mobilized to concentrations close to or higher than levels recommended for hydroponic growth of vegetables. Chitosan flocculation and precipitation using a dose of 15 mg/L resulted in a reduction of the turbidity by 96% from 156 to 6.5 FNU. After chitosan precipitation, 80% of the sludge could be reclaimed as a nutrient-rich clear phase, low in TSS and turbidity.

Smart Plant Growth Control and Monitoring System for Indoor Hydroponic Farming

Hydroponics is one of planting method that use water as a medium of plants growth, in this technique, mineral solution added into the water solvent, allowing the nutrient uptake process by the plants. Farming by hydroponic method must pay attention to the following parameters namely, temperature, humidity, the level of water needs and nutrients and also the level of sunlight need for photosynthesis process. This research used hydroponic technique in hydroponic growth room, and there is a LED growth light as an alternate of sunlight, due to this room is closed without sunlight. There are outputs displayed in monitoring system namely, temperature sensor, humidity sensor, ultrasound sensor to detect height of the plant and water level sensor to measured height of the water as a medium of the plant. Results of measured sensor in hydroponic growth room explained as the following: fan cooler worked when temperature , and humidity . Water pump worked when water level is less than 50% accordance set point. Control on LED Growth Light and LED Bulb when LDR sensor reached set point > 500 in bright condition, and < 500 in dark condition respectively. The average of Time update/received data in thing speak web is 2.4 second. Keywords: Smart Control, Hydroponic, IoT, Monitoring