This thesis deals with the history of a method of plants cultivation without original substrate. The method is hydroponics and its subsequent development is called aeroponics. This work outlines the design of the whole aeroponic system including a control unit. The control unit has been designed to control the injection of nutrient solution, which is essential to the life of plants.Further, the control unit performs the control of lighting period, temperature, air flow and also regulation of nutrient solution pH. The control unit also keeps records of all data necessary for the monitoring process and for the evaluation of time differencies in the system.

Wissenschaftler sind weltweit bereits seit geraumer Zeit darum bemüht, Lösungen für die praktikable Umsetzung einer urbanen Produktion frischer Gemüse zu erarbeiten. Die hydroponischer Anbauverfahren haben ein überdurchschnittlich hohes Potential, wenn es um die Einsparung von Produktionsmitteln geht. So können im Pflanzenbau gegenüber dem Freilandanbau bis zu 90 Prozent des eingesetzten Wassers durch geschlossene Kreisläufe eingespart werden. Diese Kreisläufe vermeiden zudem den Eintrag von Düngemittel in die Umwelt. Der geschützte Anbau in Hochhäusern sorgt für ein optimales Pflanzenwachstum ohne ungünstige Witterungseinflüsse. So ist nicht nur eine sichere marktnahe Produktion gewährleistet, es kann auch das ganze Jahr hindurch produziert werden. Transporte von Produkten aus weit entfernten Gegenden anderer Länder können somit vermieden werden. Hinzu kommt die Flächenersparnis und die damit hohe Flächenproduktivität führen. Dennoch zeigen erste Umsetzungsversuche auf, dass es noch einen hohen Grad an Forschungs- und Entwicklungsarbeit bedarf bis eine profitable Lösung für den Markt bereit steht. Insbesondere der hohe technische Aufwand und Energiebedarf erster Testanlagen sind hier als besondere Herausforderung anzusehen. In dem umfassend angelegten Forschungs- und Entwicklungsvorhaben mit dem Namen BrickBorn Farming – Nahrungsmittelproduktion in Gebäuden städtischer Gebiete sollen verschiedenste Aspekte weiterentwickelt und miteinander verknüpft werden.

With our ever increasing global population it will be necessary for dense urban environments to develop methods of farming locally. Not only will urban agriculture be beneficial in aiding in the solution of this growing populations need for food production, but it can help to reconnect us to our food and their processes. This dissertation explores the education and reconnection of the public with the food production cycle through the experience of building integrated agriculture, vermiculture and aquaponic systems (cultivating plants and fish symbiotically). Pretoria’s Apies River is an ideal location for the establishment of a research facility of urban ecosystemic food production. The proposed urban agriculture program will allow for hands on research and development of emerging methods and technologies related to farming in the city environment while providing a platform for public education through interaction&inspiration. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Architecture / unrestricted

Projektet gick ut på att skapa ett system för att automatisera en hydroponisk odling, ta fram vilka storheter som är intressanta att mäta och sedan skapa elektronik för det. Det var snabbt tydligt att det är elektrisk konduktivitet (EC), pH och temperatur som är intressant att mäta. EC är ett estimat över näringsinnehållet i vattnet, pH i vattnet måste vara i rätt nivå för att växterna ska kunna ta upp näringen och temperaturen måste vara inom rätt område för att växterna ska växa. Sensorerna som valdes fungerar väldigt olika och därför skapades olika kretsar för vardera sensor. EC och temperatursensorn fick även två olika kretsar för att kunna utvärdera vilken metod som har fungerat bäst. Kretsarna skapades i en simulator och när de gav önskvärt beteende konstruerades ett PCB utifrån simuleringsritningarna. En mikrokontroller användes för att styra kretsarna och hantera mätdata för att sedan skicka det vidare till en Raspberry Pi för att skriva ut värden på en skärm. Resultaten som kretsarna gav i slutändan är tillfredställande och mycket väl inom noggrannheten som en hydroponisk odling kräver. / The project was to create a system for automating hydroponic cultivation, identifying the quantities that are relevant to measure and then creating electronics for it. It quickly became clear that it is electrical conductivity (EC), pH and temperature that are relevant to measure. EC is an estimate of the nutrient content of the water, the pH of the water must be at the right level for the plants to absorb the nutrients and the temperature must be within a certain range for the plants to grow. The sensors selected work very differently and therefore different circuits were designed for each sensor. The EC and the temperature sensor were also given two different circuits in order to evaluate which method was best suited. The circuits were designed in a simulator and when they provided desirable behaviour, a PCB was designed based on the simulation schematics. A microcontroller was used to control the circuits and manage the measurement data and then pass it on to a Raspberry Pi in order to display values ​​on a screen. The results that the circuits ultimately gave are satisfactory and very well within the accuracy required by hydroponic cultivation.

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Many studies have investigated the issue of feeding the world’s growing population from different perspectives. Conventional agricultural methods usually have small production yields while requiring large amounts of scarce and unevenly distributed resources such as farmland and water. Furthermore, although produced food may meet the demands, it is still inefficiently delivered among different regions. Urban agriculture has been proposed to produce food inside urban areas with higher yields and less resource consumption. Hydroponics is one of the urban farming methods that needs further research before being applied on large scales. This study aims to investigate the potential lettuce production using hydroponic systems to grow lettuce domestically in urban areas in Sweden to lower its lettuce import and motivate local food production to become self-sufficient. The study is performed using a literature review, theoretical design of a system, and scenario-based assessment of hydroponic lettuce production. The detailed analysis is performed via a case study of lettuce production in Uppsala municipality and two scenarios considering the reduction of lettuce import to Sweden and related challenges and opportunities of the designed system. The analyses demonstrate that the system paves the way to decrease lettuce import and dependence on trade. Therefore, applying the system increases self-sufficiency and decreases vulnerability to shocks. Nevertheless, the study does not necessarily address issues related to transportation and food miles. Moreover, finding suitable places to establish the system needs further studies.

Thesis (DTech (Environmental Health))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / Generally, aluminium (Al) is required as a micronutrient by plants. The metabolism of Al within the plant can exert a number of effects within the plant. These include: interfering with cell division in both root tips and lateral roots, increasing cell wall rigidity, maintaining the correct cellular redox state, as well as the various other physiological and growth responses. Al is one of the most abundant elements in the earth’s crust and becomes toxic in many plants when the concentration is greater than 2-3 ppm, where the soil has a pH<5.5. Iron (Fe) is an equally important element, and the toxicity of this metal possesses constraints primarily on wetland plants growing in acidic soils that have high reducible iron content. The impact of metal toxicity (Al and Fe) requires an understanding of many aspects related to Al and Fe uptake, transport and distribution by plants in wetland ecosystems. In this study, three species of Cyperus viz. Cyperus alternifolius, Cyperus prolifer and Cyperus textilis were used to carry out phytotoxicity tests to monitor xenobiotic substances.

Detta arbete utvärderar ett kamerasystem som kan ta bilder för analys av växters välmående. Kamerasystemet bygger på en Raspberry pi model 3 b+, en PInoIR kamera modul v2 och ett blått filter. Kameran kan övervaka växter genom att den inte har något infrarött filter. Då kan matematiska uträkningar utföras på allt kamerans sensorer kan ta in. Ett experiment har designats för att skapa mätvärden som används i utvärdering av kamerans funktionalitet. Kamerasystemet bedöms fungera enligt det förespråkade ramverket och den programstack det bygger på. Det analyserade resultatet visar att kamerasystemet kan se skillnad på hydroponiska odlingar med olika tillgång till näring. / This work evaluates a camera system that can take pictures for the analysis of plants' well-being. The camera system is based on a Raspberry pi model 3 b+, a PInoIR camera module v2 and a blue filter. The camera can monitor plants because it does not have an infrared filter. This enables mathematical calculations to be performed on light registered by the camera's sensors. An experiment has been designed to create metrics that are used in evaluating the camera's functionality. The camera system is preforming well by using the proposed framework and program stack. The analyzed results show that the camera system is able to spot the difference between hydroponic cultures with access to differents amounts of nutrition.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第20009号 / 農博第2193号 / 新制||農||1045(附属図書館) / 学位論文||H28||N5018(農学部図書室) / 33105 / 京都大学大学院農学研究科応用生命科学専攻 / (主査)教授 小川 順, 教授 阪井 康能, 教授 栗原 達夫 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

Lettuce is a highly nutritional crop that is sensitive to multiple stresses, including salt stress. The decreasing availability of salt-free water is posing a major challenge to growing nutritious lettuce in hydroponic systems. Despite evidence that salt stress affects yield and nutrition, its impacts on economically important growth stages are overlooked. This study addressed the knowledge gaps regarding the salt stress impact on romaine lettuce. Four independent experiments were conducted in controlled environment conditions using 2-38 lettuce genotypes, to assess the effects of salt stress at rosette or head formation. An increase in sodium chloride (NaCl) levels (0 to 150 mM) linearly decreased lettuce biomass. A positive association was observed between NaCl and sodium to potassium ion ratio. Lettuce was found to be sensitive to salt above 40 mM NaCl. The phenotyping of 38 lettuce genotypes revealed significant variability in salt stress tolerance. Genotype, Green forest exhibited a higher decline in fresh and dry biomass compared to Burgundy delight, indicating its higher sensitivity to salt stress. Sodium accumulation was significantly higher in both genotypes under salt stress, while potassium decreased in Green forest but remained relatively stable in Burgundy Delight. Hydro-primed lettuce had higher photosynthetic efficiency and oxidative stress tolerance than the control. Hydro-priming seed treatment could be used as a cost-effective priming technique to boost economic efficiency under stress. In addition, the low sodium: potassium ratio and high biomass can be used as indicators for selecting salt-tolerant genotypes.