Wednesday 15th September, 2021: Draft Proposal Form

 Draft for Proposal

 

Title: Comparative efficiencies of horizontal versus vertical hydroponics plant growth system.

 

Objectives

1)    To design, construct and test horizontal and vertical hydroponic plant growth systems.

2)    To compare the economic production quality and efficiency of horizontal and vertical system.

 

Rationale (need/ justification)

Trinidad and Tobago, for its size, has a high population density and is quickly rising. Trinidad’s soil type is typically sandy or clay like. These are not good conditions for farming. As a result, 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. Growing food hydroponically can simplify this process significantly. Hydroponics uses no soil. Weeding out unwanted plants is no longer an issue. Hydroponics can be grown indoors so no fertilizers is needed because there are no pests in the soil. Many seedlings planted in the soil die due to pests, intense heat, poor soil conditions. Hydroponics yield and quality is much greater than soil and uses about 99% less water. Apartment buildings is becoming a new trend in Trinidad. Many residents have no access to land at all. Hydroponics allows anyone to grow their own food even if their soil type is concrete!

This project should help answer some questions between horizontal and vertical hydroponic systems.

•       Which will grow faster?

•       Which would have a greater yield?

•       Would the quality be any different?

•       Which is better suited for urban versus suburban residents?

•       Should farmers switch from soil farming to hydroponic farming?

 

Scope

This project entails the design, construction and testing of horizontal and vertical hydroponic plant growth systems in a controlled environment. For testing purposes, the hydroponic systems would be built in a control room indoors, to monitor temperature, light exposure, growth rate and protect against pests. An artificial lighting system would be installed on the ceiling as an alternative to sunlight. Since both systems are being tested, for maximum light exposure efficiency the walls of the room would be wrapped with reflective material.

The horizontal and vertical systems would be logged against each other daily measuring root and leaf distribution and weight of plants. Quality may be subjective, visual inspection and taste will be recorded at harvest time.