Vertical farming module for urban dwelling for lettuce cultivation
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Date
2024
Authors
Dencelashia M. Fajardo and Alexis Russel T. Pangilinan
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Abstract
To address the food insecurity brought by diminishing areas for cultivation and limited water supply for production, vertical tower gardens (VTGs) aimed to increase the crop yield per unit area footprint. However, current designs of VTGs are fixed and suffered from several problems such as non-uniform light demonstration and water inefficiency. This study is conceptualized to address the above-mentioned problems and aimed to contribute in solving the food security issues. A rotating vertical module for lettuce production was designed and evaluated, with the aim to help urban dwellers and farmers produce more food per square meter of space. The nutrient solution utilized was Nutriblend A & B, purchased from Mikai Agri Trading, specifically formulated for lettuce cultivation. The water parameters for the nutirnet solution were maintained as follows: the total dissolved solids (TDS) ranged from 800 ppm to 1000 ppm, the pH level was kept between 5.5 and 6.5 the electrical conductivity was maintained between 1.5 and 2.5 dS/m, and the temperature was controlled within a range of 22 to 31 degrees Celcius. Two factors are considered:the layer factor, consistingof the top (T1), middle (T2), and bottom layer (T3), and the irrigation factor, with irrigation frequencies of 20 minutes oer hour (A1) and 15 minutes per hour (A2). The harvest period was set at 20 days after transplanting. The first run (A2) recorded a higher temperature of 28.2 degrees Celcius than the second run, which had a mean temperature of 27.5 degrees Celcius. However, the humidity in the fisrt run was lower than in the second run, with mean values of 68.5% and 71.4%, respectively. The gathered data were analyzed using analysis of variance and Tukey's test for comparison among means. the implementation of A1 within Vertical farming Modules yielded favorable outcomes for parameters such as area (120.654 cm2), weight (23.78g), height (18.571 cm) and leaf count (7 leaves), while A2 resulted in longer root length (9.105cm). Moreover, the layer factor significantly influenced the height, weight and area with notably larger values observed in the bottom and middle layers compared to the top layer, except for root length. The number of leaves did not show significant difference among the treatments. the inclusion of a rotational mechanism within the module is significant for efficiently dispersing sunlight, especially in instances where the module is situated in shaded areas. Vertical farming Modules can grow significant quantities of lettuce within limited space when compared to traditional farming methods. Additionally, the researcher showcased the viability of lettuce thriving in indoor settings using vertical farming modules equipped with grow lights. However, further research is advised.