Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
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FEBRUARY 2015
ISSUE
152
www.hydroponics.com.au
SPACE FARMING
SMALL-SCALE AQUAPONICS
GROWING UP
AN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE
Published by:
Casper Publications Pty Ltd
(A.B.N. 67 064 029 303)
Colonising Space
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editor@hydroponics.com.au
Contributing Authors
Rick Donnan
Christine Brown-Paul
Kimberley A. Williams
Raymond A. Cloyd
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Mark Lewis
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or
IPM
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ISSN 2202-1485
International study tours are a unique opportunity to combine overseas travel and
cultural experience, with studies focusing on various aspects of a region or an area of
study. They lead to knowledge transfer and new and better ways of doing things. Many
Australian growers, educators and students have benefited from international study
tours, and its a treat to host two professors from Kansas State University who give an
American perspective in this issue of the Australian and New Zealand protected
cropping industries.
Steven Carruthers
Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . February . 2015. 3
A Magazine for
Commercial Growers
Advertising Inquiries
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Features
TRADE DIRECTORY
An American Perspective.........................20
This visiting American perspective
Agnova . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Autogrow Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Coast Guard Netting . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Exfoliators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
An American Perspective
Faber Greenhouses . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
GFIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Practical
GOTAFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-25
Growing up ...............................................15
Space Farming
Legro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Munters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Small-Scale Aquaponic
Pestech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Powerplants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC
Departments
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The information contained in this magazine whether
in editorial matter or in feature articles or in
advertisements is not published on the basis that the
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Growing up
Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . February . 2015. 5
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Reader Inquiries
made up. If you have had any analysis done, such as your raw water, please attach a copy. Include any extra information you wish.
Address your inquiry to: PH&G PO Box 225, Narrabeen, NSW 2101 AUSTRALIA Int: +612 9905 9030 Email: info@hydroponics.com.au
Question
Answer
Which pH?
down I use?
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but
Reader Inquiries is intended to not only help the inquirer,
I recently had a can containing some two-stroke petrol, which had gone off. Having seen where spilt petrol/oil has killed
Issue 63: Hydroponics as an
the same problem.
may
who
growers
help
also
grass, I decided to use it as
a weed killer
usingother
a rough hand
sprayer. Later on
that same
hot dayhave
I sprayed another
agricultural production system
weed patch with Roundup herbicide at the recommended strength, using the same hand sprayer. It is now a week later
emails.
and
letters
your
welcome
We
Issue 103: Sustainable Aquaponics
and I can see the results.
Issue 117: Comparing Growing
Question
From an anonymous grower. How do pesticides work ?
Those weeds sprayed with the herbicide are wilting, and the entire plant has turned yellow. Different types of weeds
are coloured to different degrees, but all are obviously dying.
The weeds sprayed with the petrol are different. There are strong yellow spots on the leaves, obviously where the
actual petrol droplets have hit. The remainder of the leaf is still green.
Can you explain this difference?
See More
Article Index
I grow tomatoes in greenhouses south of Sydney. I use phosphoric acid to lower my pH. I have been adding increasing
amounts of acid to bring my feed pH down about 6.0, but it is still rising to about 7.0 in the run -off. I have been adding
some liquid ammonium nitrate to reduce the pH rise, but it has only reduced the pH rise by about 0.2 pH. I have had
some symptoms of what has been suggested is iron deficiency. That is, the young leaves are pale and the veins show
up darker on the pale leaf.
An analysis was done of my feed and the laboratory advised that it was generally OK, except that the phosphorus (P)
level was high. I would like to add more acid, but that will make the P level even worse.
Can you suggest what I should do ?
See More
know there are a few nurserymen who grow their stock plants in hydroponics. Would you suggest that this is a good
idea? If yes, could you give me some guidance on the fundamentals.
See More
www.hydroponics.com.au
Postal Address: PO Box 225 Narrabeen NSW Australia 2101 Ph: +61 (0)2 9905-9933 Email: info@hydroponics.com.au
that a try.
The second is to add a small amount
of ammonium sulphate to your
fertiliser. In either case, allow a
couple of days for it to take effect. This
is because of the time it takes for a
Ammonium management
In commercial hydroponic operations,
most growers add a small proportion
of ammonium to their feed formula, to
avoid upward pH drift. While the
WPS conveyors
Conveyors in a greenhouse offer a wide
range of new opportunities and cost
reductions in the day-to-day operations
of a business. On top of that, they help
move around the greenhouse as they can
he used as elevated walkways.
Powerplants Australia Pty Ltd offers
WPS conveyors that move crops,
growing containers etc., automatically
through the greenhouse, greatly
reducing manual transport. The WPS
conveyors can be implemented with
other smart conveyor belt systems. They
are designed to be efficient and smooth,
at an affordable price.
The design of the conveyors is based
on high-quality modular components
that are standardised to ensure smooth
implementation, efficient operation, long
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There are several add-ons available
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Growing up
In line with the belief that change and innovation originates on a small-scale, one
leading US aquaponics expert is committed to helping small hobbyist growers as
well as large commercial businesses through sharing industry insights and
developing specialist vertical growing products.
By Christine Brown-Paul
Bright ideas
Bright Agrotechs latest offering for growers in the name of
innovation is the ZipGrow system.
A modular hydroponic production tower, the ZipGrow
system is designed not only to increase production in
hydroponic and aquaponic systems, but also facilitate
sustainable food production.
The ZipGrow towers are highly productive, modular, and
functional in a variety of plant production scenarios, from
commercial greens production to landscape design. Many of
our customers use them for aquaponic plant productiona
utility that takes advantage of the massive mechanical and
biological filtration capacity of our towers, Dr Storey says.
We developed ZipGrow towers with a very narrow focus
home and hobby aquaponic growers who wanted to use their
growing space more effectively, basically, growing up instead
of out, using our towers. The towers were great for this
market because I'd designed them to function in the aquaponic
systems that I used during my doctoral research.
As the towers began to catch on in the aquaponic
community, we began to discover that there were many
hydroponic growers that were also interested. As we began to
play with hydroponic production we realised that they work just
as well in hydroponic applications as they do in aquaponic
ones, he says.
As time passed, Dr Storey says he began receiving
considerably more commercial interest, on both the
hydroponic and aquaponic fronts, mostly related to the
companys live sales models or high-density systems.
The towers containing the plants are placed in special store
displays designed by the company, allowing customers to pick
the produce live. That model eliminates the expense of
harvesting and packaging produce, which accounts for about
50% of the cost of those items at the grocery store.
Live Sales is when we take grown-out towers full of
produce and send them directly to market. Small producers
50 EW
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agnova.com.au
Flute is a registered trademark of Nippon Soda Co., Ltd
Challenges
Spring System 7.
Empowering farmers
Final thoughts
According to Dr Storey, Bright Agrotech strives to support the
end users of its products as much as possible.
We believe in supporting the user as much as we can, and
so to that end we have put up over 100 YouTube videos just on
designing, setting up and operating aquaponic systems and
systems using ZipGrow Towers. I'd encourage everyone to take
advantage of them. We've tried to make them as useful as
possible over the years, he says.
If any of your readers are farmers, I would encourage them
to check out UpStartFarmers.com. It's a free forum for
farmers, using towers that allows farmers to interact, voice
problems and share solutions.
I think it can be helpful as farming is a pretty lonely
business most of the time. It's nice to be able to talk with other
folks that are dealing with many of the same issues that you
are, Dr Storey says.
High praise for Bright Agrotechs endeavours comes from
Wyoming Technology Business Center (WTBC) a department
under the Office of Research and Economic Development and
located on the campus of University of Wyoming.
Christine Langley, CEO of WTBC, believes that the sky is the
limit for Bright Agrotech.
"Dr Storey has major competitive advantages over any
competition: the innovative intellectual property on his design.
His approach to using vertical space and vertical growing is
An American Perspective
Learning about the Hydroponics Industry Down Under
By
Raymond Cloyd (centre), scouts for insect pests with Melanie Davidson, researcher in bio-protection with Plant and Food Research New Zealand
with Chris Sinnott (standing) at Harbour Head Growers in Waikuku, New Zealand.
20 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . February . 2015
Plant protection
Climate
Production systems
Every operation that we visited had different modifications
associated with their hydroponics system, and it was
interesting to learn how these variations evolved. We observed
nutrient film technique, sand culture, production in coir and
rockwool, and unique solutions to optimise propagation. Just
as in the US, growers are innovative problem-solvers and are
able to optimise production in a myriad of ways.
The options available to manage insect and mite pests are
much more limited than in the US, which allows for the
potential to use more biological control agents, including
parasitoids, predators, and beneficial fungi. However, this
means that it is extremely critical to establish a reliable
scouting program so that any insect and/or mite pest
infestations can be detected early.
We observed a number of insect pests that were new to us,
such as the Rutherglen bug (Nysiuis vinitor). We noticed this
insect feeding and causing extensive damage on outdoor
hydroponic lettuce production. Although the semi-tropical
climate does allow for outdoor production, there may be
difficulties associated with insect pests including the Rutherglen
bug that migrate into the outdoor production area from
surrounding areas. This can substantially impact plant protection
programs resulting in an increased use of insecticides.
We also heard about how the introduction of new insect pests
such as the potato/tomato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli) can
dramatically change the dynamics of plant protection because
this insect is a vector of the bacterium Liberibacter
solanacearum. This results in such a low tolerance for this
insect pest that growers have to make regular applications of
insecticides. In fact, a grower we visited that had been strictly
using biological controls had to discontinue this strategy and
begin relying on chemical pesticides because of the
introduction of this insect pest into the operation.
We also observed some insect pests that are common in
hydroponic production systems in the US, too, such as aphids
on chives and whiteflies on tomato and eggplant. It was
interesting to note that only biological control agents that are
native of either Australia or New Zealand can be imported,
reared, and released. This somewhat limits the types of
Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . February . 2015. 21
Rutherglen bug (Nysius vinitor) is a native species that can migrate into crops in very large numbers in favourable seasons.
Eco-friendly outdoor hydroponic grower Michael O'Dea visits with John Watkins at his operation Corras Farms in Lowood, Queensland.
22 . Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . February . 2015
Cost of production
The cost of both production supplies and labour costs was a
routine source of shock for us during our travel. This shock was
enhanced by the weakness of the American dollar, such that
one US dollar was equivalent to about $0.93 during our travel.
In a conversation with one grower about reverse osmosis for
water treatment, we indicated that the method was not used
much in the US because of the cost of the system; the grower
responded that the system was so much cheaper in the US
than Australiaespecially with the weak US dollarthat he
was buying the system abroad and having it shipped over!
Another routine source of frustration for growers Down
Under was cost of labour and regulations associated with
personnel. While US growers talk of similar challenges, we left
Australia feeling that the situation was somewhat more
challenging Down Under with very high wage and employee
benefits costs.
Sustainable production
While adoption of sustainable production practices is also a hot
topic in the US, we felt that Australia and New Zealand were
leading the way. Within the context of an individual operations
profit margin and business philosophy, an over-all theme
throughout our touring was that following sustainable
production practices is greatly valued. Though not a
hydroponics operation, one industry operation that we visited
was focused on achieving carbon neutrality, providing all water
used at the facility from rain capture, and zero waste leaving
the facilitya step ahead of efforts in the US. It was inspiring!
Organic production
In the US, organic production is defined by the inputs that are
used to grow the crops, not on the production system being
used. For this reason, some US growers (usually small and
local) are succeeding in a market niche of providing organically
Meeting the gr
growing
owing
needs of the Indus
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Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . February . 2015. 25
Space Farming
Growing food in space is not a new concept, but the recent development of
robotic gardening by NASA and students from the University of Colorado
Boulder in the US is making it easier to achieve.
By CHRISTINE BROWN-PAUL
Astronauts will test the culinary and health potential of the space lettuce,
and NASA also expects the experiment to have psychological benefits,
offering a rewarding pastime for astronauts.
University of Colorado Boulder graduate students Heather Hava, far left, and Daniel Zukowski, second from the left, with a
computerised SmartPot, which could be used to grow plants in a deep-space habitat. (Photo courtesy NASA/Daniel Casper)
Plants anywhere
The University of Colorado team's entry in the eXploration
HABitat (X-Hab) Academic Innovation Challenge is called
Plants Anywhere: Plants Growing in Free Habitat Spaces.
Instead of an area set aside just for vegetation, the approach
calls for plants to be distributed in any available space in a
deep-space habitat.
The X-Hab challenge is a university-level project designed to
engage and retain students in science, technology, engineering
and maths (STEM). The competition is intended to link student
design projects with senior and graduate-level curricula that
emphasise hands-on design, research, development, and
manufacture of functional prototype subsystems that could be
used in extra-terrestrial habitats and during deep-space
exploration missions.
Recently, the University of Colorado students demonstrated
Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . February . 2015. 33
Robotic gardening
Exploration imagery.
The first vegetable to be tested under the VEGGIE program will be the Outredgeous lettuce variety, as it is fast growing and loaded with
antioxidants, which are a potential antidote for cosmic radiation.
Protected Cropping
in the Tropics
Melon plants were grown in the Dry Tropics under a protective structure (a high
walk-in tunnel) and they were pruned following a particular method to keep the
main stem and some of the lateral shoots.
by Steven Carruthers
Proof of concept
As a proof of concept, small trials are being conducted at
Giru, a small town 54 kilometres south-east of Townsville. The
structure being used is an existing high poly-tunnel, previously
used to grow cucumbers in soilless media. It is a low cost
design consisting of two bays60 metres long, 6 metres wide
and 3 metres highwith insect exclusion netting as side walls.
The roof is covered with a semi-transparent UV stabilised
polyfabric film, which creates some shading and diffuses light
over the plants. The cultivation method is an open system with
the drainage collected and re-used on an adjacent mango
orchard or outside-grown vegetable crops. The only
automation used in the trial is an inexpensive timer to control
irrigation cycles. The complete nutrient solutions are prepared
and stored in large tanks and the irrigation solution is
delivered to pots containing pumice rock.
The setup in Giru has been working well for the grower, but
there are several improvements that can be made. When
growing melons, we temporarily had to open sections of the
sidewalls that were screened to allow the entrance of bees.
With these first crops, we wanted to identify, which are major
environmental constraints that would appear from growing
melons and other specialty crops in the existing system said
Dr Jovicich.
Higher structures will also allow for trellising crops higher
while avoiding extreme high temperatures in the crop
canopies. In the tropics, tall passively-ventilated structures
usually have a sawtooth roof design, which is created by roof
vents (a series of vertical surfaces separated by a series of
straight or curved sloping surfaces), which assist removing
heat. In designs for warm environments, these roof vents
remain permanently open but can be screened with insect
exclusion nets. The slope of the roof reflects a high proportion
of solar radiation away from the greenhouse, and natural
ventilation increases when open vents face away from the
windair flow over the roof causes negative pressure that
sucks out warm greenhouse air. This also causes outside air to
be drawn into the greenhouse through the open windward side
wall, which mixes and cools the inside air before discharging
out the roof vents.
There are also other structure designs that look very
promising for growing crops in the tropics. For example, the
Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . February . 2015. 37
Improved
uniformity,
higher quality
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Small-scale aquaponic
food production
The Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) has released a technical paper that showcases current
wisdom in aquaponics, focusing on small-scale production. The target audience is agriculture
extension agents, aquaculture officers, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community
organisers, companies and individualsworldwide.
By STEVEN CARRUTHERS
Illustrations Food & Agriculture Organization
FAO
AND
FISHERIES TURE
L
AQUACU ICAL
TECHN
PAPER
589
ponic
ale aqua
Small-sc duction
g
food pro
t farmin
ed fis
Integrat
h and pl
an
Top view
Fish tank
Grow bed
1m
Bell
siphon
Water
pump
Sump
tank
1.2m
1.2m
3
4.6m
Side view
Fish tank
Grow bed
Bell
siphon
1.17m
2
1.2m
Sump tank
water pump
Final remarks
With the advent of highly efficient aquaponic systems, there
has been an interest by FAO in discovering how the concept
fares in developing countries. The authors note that examples
of aquaponic initiatives can be seen in Barbados, Brazil,
Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica,
Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama, the Philippines, Thailand
and Zimbabwe. At first glance, there appears to be a
considerable amount of aquaponic activity within the
humanitarian sphere.
In addition, small-scale aquaponic units are components of
some urban or peri-urban agriculture initiatives, particularly
with NGOs and other stakeholders in urban food and nutrition
security, because of their ability to be installed in many
different urban landscapes. In particular, the FAO has piloted
small-scale aquaponic units on rooftops in The West Bank and
Gaza Stripin response to the chronic food and nutrition
security issues seen across the region. To date, this pilot
project and subsequent scale-up are one of a growing number
of examples around the world where aquaponics is being
successfully integrated into medium-scale emergency food
security interventions. However, the authors note that many
attempts are ad hoc and opportunistic, in many cases leading
to stand-alone, low-impact interventions. They advise caution
when evaluating the success of humanitarian aquaponics.
The authors also note there has been a surge of aquaponic
conferences worldwide in the recent years. Furthermore,
aquaponics is increasingly a part of conferences on
aquaculture and hydroponics. Many of these forums outline
concerns among researchers from different backgrounds and
specialisations, policy makers and stakeholders to find
sustainable solutions to ensure a long-lasting growth and
secure increased food output for a growing world population.
Finally, the Fish in aquaponics component of this
publication is extensive and profiles talapia, carp, catfish,
trout, Largemouth bass and prawns. From an Australian
perspective, there are other species to choose from with
ongoing development work to determine fish/plant ratios;
however, this publication is targeted at communities where
water and resources are scarce. The publication is a valuable
resource for both novice and commercial operators planning a
small-scale aquaponic venture anywhere in the world. The
information is based on practical experience with small-scale
and commercial aquaponic systems, and the publication was
developed to share lessons and current knowledge learned so
that fledgling farmers can benefit from these experiences.
Small-scale aquaponic food production is a valuable
document for anyone considering aquaponics. At 288 pages,
the publication is illustrated with many images, line drawings
and tables. It is available in print and PDF editions from the
FAO website (www.fao.org/publications), or it can be
purchased via email (publications-sales@fao.org). b
Millennium Collection
1991-2012
www.hydroponics.com.au/buynow
Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses . February . 2015. 47
Local Knowledge
Innovative Design
Higher Yields
Future Proof