Optimized cost of nutrient solution for Hydroponics at Central Luzon State University: an application of Mathematical Programming
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Date
2019
Authors
Rhealyn Joy V. Nabong and Christine Mae G. Olidan
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Abstract
CLSU ventured into hydroponics as mitigation and adaptation against climate change and hopefully leads to increasing crop production. This was develop by the CLSU Hydroponics and Aquaponics Technologies (CHAT). Hydroponics is a new method of farming where the nutrient solution management is the most crucial part of the system. The objective of this study is to formulate a linear programming model of minimizing the cost of the nutrient solution subject to nutrient contents of the solution. The data was collected from the CHAT. Literature data on liquid fertilizers was used as technical coefficients. The collected data were then used to formulate a linear programming (LP) model wherein the simples method of solving LP models is most applicable. The simplex method was applied manually in the LP model. Furthermore, for validation purposes, a software application namely MS excel solver was also used. Both methods showed similar results that among the 5 types of popular solution in the market, only 2 are needed. These are Foliage-Pro and Grow. Specifically, the nutrient solution should have 1.844 ml of Foliage-Pro and 0.6833 ml of Grow to be mixed in a liter of water. This nutrient solution satisfies the nutrient requirements and only cot 6.872778 pesos per liter, as compared to the currently used solution that costs 12 pesos.
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Research Subject Categories::MATHEMATICS