Thursday 16th September, 2021

This was the completed proposal form, that was emailed to Prof. Ekwue to be confirmed and signed.

RATIONALE: Trinidad and Tobago have a highly densely populated twin island with a steady rise in population. As a result, agricultural land for small scale faming is limited. More housing development has little to no gardening space, forcing residents to rely solely on markets and groceries for produce. Moreover, Trinidad’s soil type is approximately seventy percent of sandy or clay like soil which is not good conditions for farming. Therefore, farmers in Trinidad undergo laborious and expensive farming practices to improve these conditions by investing in manure, tilling, ploughing, fertilizing and pesticide uses. This style of farming demands long tedious hours in the field. However, growing food hydroponically can simplify this process significantly. Hydroponics uses no soil. Thus, weeding out unwanted plants and pest control is no longer an issue. There are two main types of hydroponics systems, vertically and horizontally oriented. Horizontal hydroponics systems are better suited for large spaces for maximum light exposure. Whereas vertical hydroponics system is better suited for small spaces which provides rapid yields for maximum plant growth. For small-scaled farmers, both systems can be utilized outdoors to increase productivity and quality of the plant growth. For residential areas the system depends on space, sunlight exposure, consistent flow rate of nutrient water and cost to choose the ideal system for the home. In this project, both systems would be tested under the same conditions outdoors to determine which system is more efficient.

OBJECTIVES: (1) TO DESIGN, CONSTRUCT AND TEST HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL HYDROPONICS PLANT GROWTH SYSTEMS.

(2) TO COMPARE THE ECONOMIC PRODUCTION QUALITY AND EFFICIENCY OF HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL HYDROPONICS SYSTEM.

PROJECT SCOPE: This project entails the design, construction and testing of horizontal and vertical hydroponic plant growth systems outdoors. Three types of species will be grown on two hydroponic designs, horizontally and vertically oriented. Five of each species will be tested under the same conditions for both systems. The horizontal and vertical systems will be tested for maximum light exposure efficiency, measuring of root and leaf distribution and weight of the plants. This data will be recorded daily and logged into a table for further analysis. While quality may be subjective, visual inspection and taste will be recorded at harvest time. Upon completion of the cycle, both systems will be compared by productivity, space, quality, and efficiency.

ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES/ TOOLS TO BE APPLIED

Workshop technology, Irrigation, SolidWorks and mechanical drawing, Machine Design (design process), Fluid Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Elements of Food Engineering, Soil and Water Engineering and Engineering Mathematics for calculations.

PROJECT TYPE: DESIGN / BUILD

STUDENT’S SIGNATURE: Charisma Jankee Mobile Phone: 720-7359

Email: charisma.jankee@my.uwi.edu

SUPERVISOR’S NAME: Prof. Edwin Ekwue/ Ms. Bharat

SUPERVISOR’S SIGNATURE: ______________________