Corresponding author: Nik-Othman Abdullah (
Academic editor:
Soilless farming is a method whereby plants can be grown without the use and presence of soil. Using this technology, growers are able to produce crops that are not naturally grown in the place (
The main difference between soil and soilless farming is basically the way the plants take in the nutrients. Conventional farming would require fertilized soil and make the plants, especially their roots, work hard in order to acquire the necessary nutrients. Furthermore, plants on soil rely on nitrogen fixation by diazotrophs to be efficiently nourished (
Soilless farms also do not need high maintenance to operate. Labors such as digging, watering, fertilizing, pest and weed control, protection and manual plant care are eliminated, making the workplace safer and more favorable for employees. A farm that produces 50 ton/month of crops could be easily managed by 2-3 employees only. This vastly reduces costs for manpower and labor, therefore resulting in a higher gain and lower expenditure. Depending on the workflow setup, crops can be supplied to markets daily, which meets the demands of the population (
Techniques such as succession planting and continuous harvest will be utilized to achieve indefinite crop production. For this workflow, seeding will be done every
Soilless planting can take place in any environment; indoors or outdoors. Indoors, however, are much more preferable as it will give the opportunities of total control of the environment. For this project, a
Five types of plant cultivars will be selected for planting;
The grow-house must be modified carefully to provide us with the necessary controls over the growing environment. The atmosphere of the grow room must be purified and free of pathogens while keeping thetemperature at optimum levels. Next, humidity must be controlled since excess moisture in the environment would encourage mildew and other diseases. Then, plants need light to photosynthesize, however, theamount of light provided must be calculated/regulated to optimum levels. Lastly, the project solely relies onthe growing system where plants are grown in, so the most suitable system will provide the best yields. These can be achieved by the following installations:
Seeds will be prepared and selected carefully. Seeds with deformities, abnormal size and obvious damage will be removed.
A germination tray that can hold 200 - 500 Rockwool cubes is sterilized using
Rockwool cubes will be set on the tray and soaked with
Careful measurement of pH of the germination system must be taken using the pH meter. Optimum pH will be
For seeded plants (
For cloned seedlings, see section on cloning below.
Transparent tray cover will be attached to the tray to maintain humidity.
Ambient temperatures must be maintained at
Lights at
Once true set of leaves have emerged, (
For
Transplant date for
Records and observations will be noted down.
All growing systems must be thoroughly sterilized with
For
For
Lighting will be set to 740 nm, 0% dimming for maximum photosynthesis.
Lighting will be provided for
Days for growing will be
Days for growing will be
Days for growing will be
Days for growing will be
Materials and equipment will be sterilized with
A healthy and mature plant will be selected and its stem will be cut at a
The cutlet will be dipped into a rooting solution, cut side down, for about 1 inch from the cut and carefully placed directly in a new and unused
Germination tray will be covered with dome and will be lighted with
After
Once the roots have bounded on the Rockwool cubes, at about the 7th day, the seedling will be transplanted into their respective systems.
Plants will be grown in their respective systems for their respective transplant-harvest length of days.
For
For
Farming using cultivated land proves to be very difficult in arid environments such as in Qatar. Good-quality and fertile soil, along with optimum growing environments are needed for the plantlife to thrive (
A controlled-environment soilless farm eliminates all these problems. The environment where the plants are grown are strictly controlled and regulated. The temperature, light-exposure, light spectrum and
Today, the advancement of soilless farming is backed by countless scientific research. Not only does it provide food in a cheaper and guaranteed way, but it also revolutionizes agriculture and aides scientist conducting various research. Countries that previously do not have the capabilities to grow their own produce can now easily be an importer and supplier of fresh and premium quality food making them self-sustaining. Food quality is easily controlled and tailored according to the demand. Previously seasonal produce, such as strawberries, can now be grown in a hydroponic farm, anytime, anywhere (
In the near future, a very large scale and well-equipped soilless farm could reduce overall carbon dioxide levels of the environment, which reduce global warming and most importantly could even produce as much as 56 million kW/h of energy per farm, through the use of
Food production using hydroponics has several notable advantages; it overcomes environmental inadequacy of infertile lands such as in Qatar. Lands that were previously unused for any productive means can now be used for food production. Once set-up has commenced operation, production of produce is infinite and subsequent costs are very minimal. Operation and production are systematic, accurate and could be planned with a very high level of accuracy. Uses less water than conventional agriculture and recycles the water until the end of production; only 10% of total water used compared to conventional farming because the system prevents water run-off, which is a common occurrence in soil-planting. This means, 90 % of total fresh water used is saved. In this way, fresh water is greatly conserved in countries like Qatar, where water is very scarce and expensive (
Plants won’t need to waste energy developing huge roots to search for nutrients, because nutrients are supplied to the plants in pure and unhindered medium. Plants would have smaller roots, therefore plants could be planted closer together, guaranteeing higher yields in less space. Plants could concentrate on floral production, growing fruits or vegetables, instead of roots. Therefore, plants grow evidently 50% faster and bigger. It can be set-up almost anytime and everywhere, in a greenhouse, warehouse, inside a building, or even in outer space. Any nutrient deficiency, disease or problem could be easily traced and corrected, preventing huge amounts of loss for the grower. Integrated Pest Management could be employed, controlling any possible threats from pests if ever a containment breached occurs. Environment is strictly controlled to imitate optimum growing conditions and maximum growth potential. Control over environment provides the opportunity to provide optimum growing environment, leading to better quality and higher yields. Produce are not affected by climate change, sudden weather change and environmental hazards. Seasonal produce can be grown all-year round, meaning there will be no shortage of selected products, even produce like berries and lettuce, which are not commonly found in countries like Qatar. Crops such as lettuce, strawberries and herbs are grown above ground level at an ideal height which allows better working conditions, faster and better crop cultivation and harvesting with lower labor costs and possible injuries to the worker. Growing environment is sterile and workers practice aseptic techniques, therefore no contamination is present. There would be no need of for fertilizers, pesticides, weedicides and other harsh chemicals for plants to grow and survive. Plants grown have a high degree of uniformity. All plants would be visually identical. Evidently results in a cleaner, fresher, healthier, tastier produce which has more nutrients due to the intake of pure nutrients and absence of pests and parasites (
Initial start-up is slightly more expensive than conventional farming and requires technical expertise and science-oriented employees. However, subsequent production cost is 90 % cheaper and cost-effective compared to conventional farming (
An innovative method in hydroponics occurred in the 70s when the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) was introduced. The method of NFT soilless planting utilizes an enclosed, long and narrow channel where plants are grown in bare roots. A shallow stream or “
The basic parts of the NFT system is made up of a channel, where the plant sits on top and thin films of nutrients are pump through the channel, a pipe that drains the nutrients back into the reservoir, a reservoir where the nutrient solutions are stored and a pump. To maximize the utilization of space for plant growing, a system that can accommodate the conventional (horizontal) orientation of NFT systems with an addition of
By using the modified NFT system oriented for vertical growing, it is possible to upscale the amounts of yields while only using a very small area of space. The proposed system,
Concept of upscaling the production of crops for large-scale food production. The red box indicates 1 floor. By upscaling upwards, the same amount of land area occupied by a single growhouse will enable an exponential increase in yields.
NEW YORK FANS Custom Direct Gas Fired Material Handling Radial Fans Set
Wheel Diameters | .1 m – 2.54 m |
Air Volumes | 236 m3/s |
CO2 Supply | Yes |
Microfilters | 30/30 High Efficiency V-bank Configuration |
Static Pressures | 12454.1 Pa |
Horsepower Req. | 2,000 HP (1,492,000 J/s) |
Temperatures | 537.80 |
Maximum Eff. | 70% |
Windmaster® 715mm Tornado Turbine Industrial Roof Ventilator
Air extraction capacity | 11,491 m3/h per unit |
Blades | 46 |
Throat | 950 mm |
Ventilator Head Width | 980 mm |
Ventilator Head Height | 580 mm |
Total Height | 1,020 mm |
AIN KING 30” Quiet Oscillating Industrial Fans
Speed | 3-Speed |
Oscillation | 90° |
Min. CFM | 1.62 m3/s |
Max. CFM | 3.51 m3/s |
RPM | 530 (Min) – 1,010 (Max) |
Windmaster® VR180 Industrial Evaporative Cooler Set (Aluminum)
Air Output | 18,000 m3/h |
Temperature Regulator | LCD |
Electric Motor | 1.1 kW |
Water Capacity | 40,000 ml |
Base Width | 1,100 mm |
Filters | 100 mm HiTech CELdek pads |
CONDAIR ME Industrial Evaporative Humidifier
Air Speed | 4.5 m/s |
Water Connection Press. | 2 – 10 bar |
Water Temperature | 5 – 45 °C |
LED Lighting System ILLUMITEX Quantum Horticulture Plant Research LED Lighting System
LED Spectra | Abeo™ FA |
Beam Control | Ultra-precision |
Channels | 450 nm, 660 nm, 730 nm |
LED Count | 3 LEDs per foot |
Dimming | 0 – 100 % per LED channel |
NFT Channels System - GRAZE GREEN Fodderking 24-24 Custom Vertical-Horizontal Hybrid NFT System
1.6256 m x 0.2286 m Wide x 1.524 m Long UV stabilized, Food-grade PVC Growing Channels |
16 Channels (176 holes) per Level by 4 Levels High |
Overall footprint of assembled system is 7.3 m Long x 1.2 m Wide x 1.8 m Tall |
3 Soaking buckets with 6 mesh liner |
9.3 m2 of growing area |
HydroTowers – GROWHARDY I-Stack Commercial Vertical Grow System
6 Levels, 24 Plants/ Tower |
6 Planting pots/ 6 Support Plates |
24 Grow Pots |
Climate Data for Qatar
|
|
|
January | 12.8 | 25 |
Febuary | 15.5 | 26.1 |
March | 17.2 | 26.7 |
April | 22.2 | 37.2 |
May | 24.4 | 46.7 |
June | 28.9 | 51.1 |
July | 28.9 | 51.1 |
August | 31.1 | 51.7 |
September | 24.4 | 46.1 |
October | 22.8 | 42.2 |
Novermber | 19.4 | 35 |
December | 16.7 | 27.2 |