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Study the suitability of growing edible crops in an urban setting.

By: Chai Jia Ying, Wong Qi En

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Acknowledgement

We would like to express our deepest gratitude and special thanks to our supervisors who led us through this project, Ms Seahmala Muniandy and Ms Kan Siew Mun.

We would also like to express our appreciation to our lab technicians, Mr Nara and Mr Eric for helping us with the necessary technical and financial aspects of the project.

Before we start, we would like to express our deepest gratitude and special thanks to our supervisors who led us through this project, Ms Seahmala Muniandy and Ms Kan Siew Mun. Their careful and precious guidance was extremely valuable for our project, both theoretically and practically.

We would also like to express our appreciation to our lab technicians, Mr Nara and Mr Eric for helping us with the necessary technical and financial aspects of the project. Without their aid and advice, the project would not have run as smoothly as expected.

Finally, we would like to thank all the Landscape Design and Horticulture (LDH) lecturers for all the guidance and passion in educating us for the past 3 years. Without them, the knowledge required to keep this project going would not be ingrained in us.

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Contents

Introduction
Methodology
Results
Challenges
Conclusion
Recommendation
References
Q & A

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Urban Farming

Urban farming is gaining popularity and is an exceptional method of growing food crops where space is limited. People can grow crops of their choice for a healthier lifestyle or to meet their family consumption needs.

The aim of this experiment is to grow edible crops and come out with an aesthetically pleasing design and functional system for these crops for the home growers.

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Our Objective

Observe and study the growth of the cherry tomatoes crops using the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) system and Substrate Media system�
Review the use of the IoT system (Internet of Things) in the monitoring of soil moisture in the Substrate Media system

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Cherry Tomatoes

Solanum lycopersicum var. Cerasiforme�
Valuable source of vitamins B and C, as well as mineral salts (Esquinas, 1981)
an important crop in many parts of the world (Hobson and Bedford, 1989)

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Substrate Media

Secure growth substrate�
Holds sufficient nutrients and water�
Good porosity�
Good water holding capacity

(Tam and Wang, 2015).

https://www.green-tech.co.uk/fertilisers/soil-conditioner-and-root-dips/vermiculite

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Why IoT System

IoT refers to a network of connected devices that enables the collection of data and information using sensors.

an increasing reliance on automated systems due to technological advancement (Fourth Industrial Revolution)�
new innovations in IoT technology has allowed farmers to save costs, increase quality and quantity of yield (Fao.org, 2009)

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Methodology

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Seed sowing

Oct 25 2018

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Nutrient Solution

Solution	Nutrient Chemicals	Amount Required for 5L (g)
Solution A	Calcium nitrate	442.5
Solution A	Chelated Iron	21
Solution B	Potassium Dihydrogen phosphate	131.5
	Potassium nitrate	291.5
	Magnesium sulphate	230.5
	Manganese sulphate	4.45
	Boric Acid	0.85
	Copper sulphate	0.115
	Ammonium moldybdate	0.01
	Zinc sulphate	0.22

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Transplanting

6 seedlings with the best growth were selected and transplanted into the each respective system on 33rd day.

Vermiculite

Leca

The seedlings grown in vermiculite went through a round of natural selection after 11th days of sowing.

On the 21st day of sowing, the seedlings underwent another round of selection based on their stem length and number of leaves.

On the 33rd day, the seedlings were transplanted into their respective systems. 6 seedlings with the best growth were selected and transplanted into the NFT system. Leca (Lightweight expanded clay aggregate) was added to support the seedling. Leca was chosen as a sub-media as it is pH neutral and reusable (Roberto, 2003). The nutrient solution was maintained at the optimum throughout the whole experiment.

For the substrate media, growth bags filled with vermiculite were prepared. 6 seedlings with the best growth were also selected and planted into the growth bags. Green plastic sticks were also added to provide structural support. A structure was implemented on the 60th day of the experiment to provide additional support for the plants.

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Substrate Media Set-up

(IoT system)

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Source Code

Code 1 will call in the library for the CayenneMQTT which allows the code for the CayenneMQTT to be used in the IDE (Integrated Development Environment). The following “#define” directive is to ensure that constant values, for this instance a string, can be used throughout the whole source code.

Code 2 connects the NodeMCU microcontroller to the phone’s hotspot, as seen from “char_ssid[] = “Eco”” which allows 24/7 synchronisation of soil moisture data from the soil moisture sensors to the Cayenne website. Eco is the name of the phone.

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Source Code

Code 3 declares the setup function, any code within “setup()” runs once at the start of the programme. The “loop()” function will contain most of the arduino code. It allows the program to run repetitively until the NodeMCU is reset. This whole section is the most important section of the code as it allows the program to run, thus allowing the NodeMCU microcontroller to read the data and write it out onto the serial monitor and the Cayenne website where data can be collected.

Finally, Code 4 calls out the different sensors and activates the actuator in the sensors so that all the soil moisture data can be collected.

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Source Code

All in all, the different codes form the entire source code which allows the NodeMCU Esp8266 microcontroller to collect data from the soil moisture sensors and send it to the CayenneMQTT platform for analysis, without any section of the code the program will not be able to run.

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An overview of the system when the soil moisture measured is optimum.

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When the sensors sense a drop in optimum soil moisture content, a notification will be sent to the student’s phone.

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E-Control, an existing application on the smartphone will then be used. At the tap of a finger, the phone remote controller will activate the water to irrigation timer pump to pump up nutrient solution.

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The nutrient solution is pumped up into the growth bags.

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Excess nutrient solution will drain through the drain cells into the tray.

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Excess nutrient solution in the tray will be collected in a smaller tank.

It can be re-use after filtering out the particles.

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The soil moisture content returns back to optimum.

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Using the application, the phone remote controller will be deactivate.

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Results

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Germination Table

Materials	Total seeds sow	Seeds germinated	Germination rate (%)
Polyurethane	96	84	87.5
Vermiculite 1	15	14	93.3
Vermiculite 2	15	14	93.3
Vermiculite 3	15	15	100
Vermiculite 4	15	15	100
On Average			89.6

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Measurements

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Adding in Nutrient Solution

NFT system

Substrate Media system

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Setting up the system

NFT system

Substrate Media system

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Structural Support

NFT system

Substrate Media system

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Flower buds

NFT system (81st day)

Substrate Media system (69th day)

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Flowers

NFT system (82nd days)

Substrate Media system (76th day)

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Fruits (Substrate Media System)

16 Jan 2018

21 Jan 2019

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Yield quality

Based on

Shoot Length
Shoot weight (Dry and Fresh)
Number of Leaves
Number of Flower buds
Number of Flowers
Number of Fruits

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Comparing the shoot length between NFT and SM systems

	Plants in NFT	Plants in SM
Shoot Length (cm)	185.2 ± 11.1	182.3 ± 16.8

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Comparing the number of leaves between NFT and SM systems

	Plants in NFT	Plants in SM
Shoot Weight (Wet) (g)	77.7 ± 15.4	81.4 ± 10.9
Shoot Weight (Dry) (g)	8.3 ± 1.6	10.7 ± 1.5
Number of leaves	42.5 ± 12.3	39 ± 16.6

Both systems also have the same amount of leaves at the start of the experiment. About a week after the transplanting, the number of leaves observed in the NFT system starts to increase significantly as compared to the number of leaves observed in the Substrate Media system. This may be due to the different location the system was placed. The Substrate Media system was placed at a sunnier spot while the NFT system only receives sunlight after 9 am. The plants in NFT system may produce more leaves to absorb more light.

Dry shoot weight depicts the growth of the crops directly. Although the average number of leaves of the crops recorded for Substrate Media system was (39 ± 16.6) lesser than the for the NFT system (42.5 ± 12.3), the shoot weight was heavier (81.4 ± 10.9g and 77.7 ± 15.4g respectively). This implies that there are more growth in the cherry tomatoes crops grown in the Substrate Media system compared to the crops in NFT system.

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Flowering (Number of flower buds, number of flowers,

number of fruits)

	Plants in NFT	Plants in SM
Number of flower buds	16.5 ± 4.5	32 ± 5.9
Number of flower	5.5 ± 3.6	18.3 ± 1.1
Fruit	0	1 ± 1.63

There were about twice the amount of flower buds observed in the cherry tomatoes crops in Substrate Media system compared to NFT system (32 ± 5.9 and 16.5 ± 4.5 respectively). Flowering on Substrate Media system were observed on the 76th day while flowering on NFT system were observed on the 81st day. There are also about thrice amount of flowers bloomed in the crops of Substrate Media system compared to the crops in NFT system (18.3 ± 1.1 and 5.5 ± 3.6 respectively).

On the day of harvest, a total of 6 fruits were observed in the cherry tomatoes crops in Substrate Media system while no fruit was observed in NFT system. This may suggest that the crops grown in Substrate Media system have a better yield compared to the crops grown in NFT system. However, the 6 fruits harvested were not ripen yet, as a result the yield was not focused. Out of the 6 fruits harvested, 5 came from the same plant. This also implies the crops’ growth in Substrate Media system were not uniform as compared to the crop’s growth in NFT system.

By comparing the standard deviation of the data collected from both systems, the crops grown in NFT system displayed a more uniform growth compared to the crops grown in Substrate Media system.

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Challenges- Leaves curling

(Folia, 2012).

Tomato leaf curl virus

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Challenges- Leaves curling

This occurs when the tomato plant top growth exceeds the root development, the plants react by reducing leaf surface area exposed to the sun until the roots catch up.

It is usually brought on warm temperatures and too much moisture in the pot.

(Folia, 2012).

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Conclusion

Cherry tomato crops grown Substrate Media system of vermiculite proved better than the plants grown in NFT system�
Cherry tomato crops grown in NFT system were observed to have a more uniform growth compared to the crops grown in Substrate Media system�
IoT system is useful in keeping track the data

More growth is observed in cherry tomato crops grown Substrate Media system (2.4 g more growth)

Heavier shoot weight (3.7 g)

Early development of flowers on plant (12 days early)

Early fruit development (no fruits were observed in NFT system on the day of harvest)

Development of more number of flower buds (15.5 more)

More number of flower (12.8 more)

However, the cherry tomato crops grown in NFT system were observed to have a more uniform growth compared to the crops grown in Substrate Media system. It was suspected that use of vermiculite as a growth media may not be suitable for produce uniform growth crops. The data were only based on 6 plants which is a relatively small number. More research can be done to discuss vermiculite as a growth medium for cherry tomato crops and using a larger value of specimen for more accurate data.

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Recommendation- Adding in Half-strength nutrient solution early

A suggestion for future projects done on cherry tomatoes, will be to add in half-strength nutrient solution (EC: 1.1m/s-2) when the seedlings reach 14th days.

It is best to supply the cherry tomato seedlings with nutrient solution to prevent any growth stunts and to supply the seedlings with sufficient nutrients.

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Recommendation- Starting the project early

The data was collected on the 88th day before the cherry tomatoes ripen. In a experiment done by Tsay et al.,(1987), the tomatoes took 167 days to reach full ripening.

The growing of the crops should be planted early for the fruit to reach full maturity. As the fruits were harvested before maturity, there is no yield produced. This will affect the overall result as the crop value is on the fruit itself.

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Recommendation- Repetition of experiment

In the current experiment, only 6 plants from each system were evaluated. In the future, a larger sample size is required for better accuracy of results collected. �

A higher quantity of values will help ensure that the average results collected will be more representative of the experiment as a whole.

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Recommendation- Solar-powered power banks for IoT setup

Utilize solar-powered power banks to power the microcontrollers�
Reduced the reliance on a wired connection from a power socket thus saving electricity

In the event the project is done outdoors or with a leaky roof, the solar-powered power bank has a lower chance of getting short circuit as compared to a wired connection to a power socket.

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References

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Thank You

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Q & A