Agricultural technology developer brings aeroponics to India

Driven by the dire need for food and an all around drought-like situation in several places with failing rains and a depleting water table, researchers have been trying various methods of farming to increase crop yield with minimum investment and water requirement.

A Coimbatore-based agri-engineering graduate K Prabhu Sankar, with the support of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) and a city-based agricultural technology developer, has brought Aeroponics farming system for commercial crops, after a trial period of two years. They claimed that after the US and European countries, this commercial type of Aeroponics farming is the first initiative in the country.

Every day, 900 kg of vegetables of 18 varieties which include tomato, brinjal, ladies finger, beans, carrot and potato, are produced using 30,000 sq ft space under the Aeroponics farming system located at Sengodampalayam.

Sankar had developed the Aeroponics system in 2013. After a study to standardise the farming method for the climatic condition, he formulated procedural calculations in 12 parameters such as room temperature, relative humidity, carbon-dioxide level, sunlight intensity, shadow effect, water temperature, water nutrient and PH value in water.

“Around 6,000 litres of water would be enough to cultivate 900 kg of vegetables a day. Water would be sprayed intermittently at the root of the crops the whole day. The crops absorb only 2,000 litres as a top up, and the remaining water would be recycled,” he said.

Read more at The New Indian Express