Design and Fabricstion of Hydroponic Plant Machine And Monitoring of Hydroponic Plant in Controlled Environment

The main aim of agriculture in Pakistan is not only limited to the growth of crops but it is also affiliated with the economic growth of farmers. Rice is one of the most important crops in our country. Basically growth of rice in Pakistan mostly depends on the climatic conditions and as it is a labo

Project Title

Design and Fabricstion of Hydroponic Plant Machine And Monitoring of Hydroponic Plant in Controlled Environment

Project Area of Specialization

Mechatronics Engineering

Project Summary

The main aim of agriculture in Pakistan is not only limited to the growth of crops but it is also affiliated with the economic growth of farmers. Rice is one of the most important crops in our country. Basically growth of rice in Pakistan mostly depends on the climatic conditions and as it is a labor-intensive crop therefore it requires about 80-90 labor days per acre. Hence to overcome these issues, mechanization is very important in rice cultivation by growing it hydroponically.

The objective of this project is to simulate a rice baby plant growing machine and plant incubator that can provide a healthy baby plant. The system has its own controlled temperature, humidity, and water recycle and quality controls. The environmental conditions of the plant in the system can be automatically controlled and changed depending on the plant’s health.

The project basically consists of two parts first part is the development and fabrication of automated seedling machine using conveyor system whereas the second part is to develop controlled environment i.e. plant incubator. This unit will provide precise temperature control and uniform illumination for seed germination and plant growth applications. A variety of models will be available, featuring: removable lamp canopies, multi-tier configurations, programmable temperature settings, humidity controllers, and water recycle unit. The conveyor structure consists of three hoppers stations, first and the third hoppers are filling stations of the substrate and the second hoper is the sowing station for the seeds. The tray will be inserted from one end and after all the process it will be collected at the other end, containing the first and third layer of substrate and second layer of seeds. Afterwards it will be placed in the controlled environment where it will be provided with nutrients rich water solution through water pump and the plant can be grown under the required optimal conditions.

An Arduino Mega will be used to operate the control systems by interfacing with various sensors, heater and exhaust, and pump. The pH is monitored using a pH meter and regulated by supplying acidic and basic solutions to the nutrient solution using a pump. The temperature is adjusted using a heater with built-in feedback. Humidifiers will also be used to increase the moisture level in the air (humidity) which can be directly absorbed by the plants. The controlled environment will have different sensors like temperature, humidity and water quality detector that will show the data on Graphical User Interface (GUI) and accordingly parameters can be controlled. This data can be reused for 4.0 Industry to find the best optimal conditions for the plant growth unlike other developing countries.

Project Objectives

Objectives

To increases Yield

No pesticides and insecticides requirement

To reduce overhead cost

To do automated farming

To increases quality

To use less water

Project Implementation Method

Firstly the tray will be placed on automated seedling machine where it will be filled will three layers of substances.

• Lower layer will be 250 gm of substrate i.e. Peat Mos.
• Second layer will be 100 gm of rice seeds  
• Upper layer will be 150 gm of substrate.

Afterwards the tray will be collected at the end of the automated seedling machine. Then it will be placed in the controlled environment box i.e. plant incubator where it will be provided with nutrient rich water solution, humidity, temperature and pH of the water required for the plant growth.

• Temperature should be in between 21-30 °C
• Humidity should be in between 50-70 %
• pH should be 5.5 for better rice growth

The temperature would be monitored by DHT11 temperature and humidity sensor and controlled by providing cool nutrient water to the plants.

The humidity would also be monitored by DHT11 sensor and further it would be controlled by putting humidifier in the plant incubator and excess can be emitted out by ventilation fan.

Water stored in the tank can be cooled by peltier module.

Overflow water will be collected in the tank and changed when pH level is not desirable. pH level will be checked by pH probe and can be monitored via Graphical User Interface (GUI).

Benefits of the Project

• Efficient use of Water:

The overflow water flows back into the tank and uses this nutrient water again in the tray until the pH level of the water is desired and it saves water by 90%.

• Production Rate:

The production of the crop increases to 3 to 10 times in the same space as all the nutrients are provided through substrate and nutrient rich water solution when compared to the land farming which utilizes large acres of land.

• No Pesticides:

No additional chemicals for weeds or pesticides are required for this project. The plants will be monitored in the control environment which will prevent pest and insects to harm them.

• Controlled Environment:

Monitoring the crops in the controlled environment means that the crops can be grown where the weather and soil conditions are not favorable. E.g. deserted areas, mountainous areas or barren land.

• Saving Labor Cost:

The seedling machine is fully automized so very few workers are required to prepare the hydroponic tray. The project doesn’t need workers for seedling, watering, fumigating weeds and pests which saves our labor cost and time.

• Off Season Cultivation:

Continuous cultivation and off season production is possible through this project. The project is under control environment so it doesn’t need any cultivation season to grow.

• Land Saving:

Project doesn’t require soil. Crops can be grown in places where the land is limited, doesn't exist, or is heavily contaminated.

• Better Quality:

The taste of the crops grown hydroponically is much superior and much healthier than the soil based crops

• Cost Saving:

The substrate (PeatMos) and the nutrient water can be reused saving us the cost.

• Environmental friendly:

This project covers Sustainable Development Goals number 13 which is Climate Action. The generation of plants by this project allow the plant to get nutrients in controlled environment and does not affect the climate as it does not emits harmful fumes.

• Reducing Hunger

 This project also covers Sustainable Development Goals number 2 which is Zero Hunger. This project is based on the generation of food and it provides nutritious food and thus can generate decent incomes for the people which can reduce hunger among people.

• Industrialization:

This project also covers Sustainable Development Goals number 9 that is Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. As this technique is not very common in Pakistan and all the crops are grown manually in open field. There is very little concept of Hydroponics and thus can be an innovation in Pakistan.

• Economic Advantage:

This project also covers Sustainable Development Goals number 8 that is Decent Work and Economic Growth. Hydroponic food production method allows on average four times the amount of crops in the same space as traditional soil-based farming, and it can guarantee a faster growth for many kinds of crops thus increasing an economy.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

Automated Seedling Machine:

  1) Conveyor System:

• Conveyor will be used for passing the tray through different stations.
• The length of the conveyor will be 6 ft.
• 24 V Dc gear motor model 4D60GN-C of 65 rpm is used for conveyor bed system.

   2) Hopper System:

• There will be three stations, two for substrate and one for seeds.
• Hopper size is 1x1x1 Feet. 
• Hopper capacity: PEAT Mos 5kg, Seeds 10 kg, variable with the input but within a volume of 1 cubic feet. 
• Feeding stations will be control by 24V DC gear motor model 4D60GN-C of 65 rpm.
• 1st and 3rd feeding station will be for PEAT MOS as a substrate.
• 2nd feeding station will be for seeds.
• Amount of seeds and substrate will be controllable by gating mechanism.
• From 1st hopper 200-3000 gm. PEAT MOS can be control by gate mechanism.
• From 2nd hopper 100-200 gm. PEAT MOS can be control by gate mechanism.
• From 3rd hopper 80-200 gm. seeds can be controlled by gate mechanism.
• Different seeds can be used in seeding station like maize, rice, wheat etc.

3) Production Rate:

• One tray will take 3.5 seconds to prepare and ready for plant incubator.
• This machine can produce 17 trays in one minute.
• Size of the tray is 24 x 12 x 1.5 inch

4) Liquid Crystal Display:

• Voltage, Current and Power of both the motors (Conveyor and Hoppers) connected in parallel will be monitored on PZEM-031 meter.

 5) DC Source:

• 24 V, 7 Amp DC adapter will be used as a power source for both the motors.

Plant Incubator:

1. Humidity:

• Humidity will check through humidity sensor DHT11 (capacitive).
• And it will be controlled by Humidifier.

2. Watering:

• Ebb and flow technique of hydroponic is implemented for watering plants.
• Automized watering system controlled by 12V DC centrifugal pump.
• Water storage tank will be at the bottom of the controlled box and the tray will get water from sprinkler through pump.

3. Capacity:

• Controlled environment will be a cuboid enclosed chamber having dimensions of 2 x 2 x 3 feet.
• 2 trays could be control at one time.

4. Ventilation:

• YX2512 Dc brushless fans will be used for ventilation.

5. Temperature:                                                                                                                                                                

• Temperature will set according to specific characteristics of seed. (E.g. for Rice 22 – 31 centigrade).
• Temperature sensor DHT11 is used to record the environmental temperature.

6. Production Rate:

• One tray contains 100-120 spikes.
• 0.5 kg seeds will make 5 kg rice and covers 500 square feet.
• This plant incubator will take 6-7 days to grow baby plant which will ready for replanting on land.     

7. Controller:

• Arduino Mega will be our main system to run the entire control process.
• Temperature, Humidity and pH will be monitored on Arduino LCD.   

Final Deliverable of the Project

Hardware System

Core Industry

Agriculture

Other Industries

Food

Core Technology

Others

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

Zero Hunger, Gender Equality, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Climate Action

Required Resources

If you need this project, please contact me on contact@adikhanofficial.com