Aim: To develop an aquaponics unit for vegetable and legume production at house level for use as a model

Scope: Aquaponics is an emerging area of activity that is being given a lot of emphasis by Government. Setting up of small aquaponics unit at household levels will contribute to national food security, reduce our food import bill and help provide better and nutritious food to households. It can also be developed by SMEs and other agripreneurs as a novel business opportunity.

Activities

2.2.1 Designing and setting up a small-scale aquaponics system;

- Aquaponics has garnered significant attention as an ecologically sustainable solution to bolster agricultural productivity. This system establishes a harmonious interplay wherein beneficial bacteria harness the byproducts of fish wastes, predominantly in the form of ammonia. Through the nitrification process, these bacteria facilitate the conversion of ammonia into nitrate, subsequently introducing this nitrate compound into the aquatic environment.

- A small-scale low-cost aquaponics unit was set up and tested for lettuce production at household level. The technique used was the deep-water culture, using the floating raft method. Afterwards the unit was successfully used to produce kale. Three recirculating aquaponics systems were designed and set up to evaluate kale production. Plant parameters were evaluated at different growth stages for both lettuce and kale production. Both lettuce and kale production were successfully grown using this system of production.

Figure 2.2.1: Small scale low cost aquaponic set up for household food security (lettuce production)

2.2.2 Optimisation of all the key water and crop parameters for an efficient and effective aquaponics unit;

Figure 2.2.2: Lettuce at beginning of production and at harvest stage

2.2.3 Testing the vegetables and fish from the aquaponics units for safety, quality, taste, and acceptability.

Figure 2.2.3: Kale production using low cost aquaponic system.

Aim: To investigate various water use technologies for use by small scale farmers

Scope: Water management is a key issue in agriculture. The present study proposes to test several types of water regimes (deficit irrigation, field capacity, and normal), as well as different application rates.

• Different irrigation systems (drip and micro-spinkler) were evaluated for Soybean production (Glycine max.(L).

With the increasing world population by 2050, more crops will need to be produced for which more irrigation water will be required, therefore there is a necessity to adopt appropriate irrigation techniques especially in developing countries. There is also growing interest worldwide in using leguminous crops such as (Glycine max.(L)) as high nutritional value crops to address the issue of poverty and food security.

Activities 

2.5.1 Testing  different  irrigation  regimes  and  methods  for  sustainable agricultural water management;

Figure 2.5.1: Canopy of soybean under micro sprinkler irrigation

2.5.2. Identification of the optimum irrigation regimes and application rates for legumes;

Figure 2.5.2: Canopy of soybean under drip irrigation system

2.5.3 Testing of harvested rainwater for quality and suitability for use in legume production

Figure 2.5.3: Canopy of soybean under (control) Rainfed irrigation

The greatest yield was achieved under drip irrigation system which was due to the high efficiency of the system, slow, frequent and precise application of water directly to the root zone with minimal evaporative loss. It was also observed that there was limited weed growth under drip irrigation as compared to sprinkler irrigation and rainfed conditions.

• Different irrigation systems (drip and micro-sprinkler) and form of 13:13:20:2 fertilisers were evaluated for common bean production

The water demand has increased sixfold in the last century and continues to grow at a rate of 1% per year. The nitrogen-fixing potential of Phaseolus vulgaris is normally categorized as weak in comparison to other legumes. Nitrogen fertilizers are commonly used in bean production to achieve high yields. Plants grown under drip irrigation system showed promising results in terms of growth, development and yield as compared to micro sprinklers.

Figure 2.5.4: Drip


Figure 2.5.5: Micro-sprinkler

• Different irrigation systems (online dripper, inline dripper and micro-sprinkler) were evaluated for Common bean production

Ever since farmers started crop cultivation, they have been able to increase their productivity by relying less on rainfall and focusing more on irrigation systems. Upon adoption of irrigation, farmers were found to be less dependent on natural rainfall.

The most efficient irrigation method was evaluated for common bean production namely online drip system, inline drip system, micro sprinkler system and rainfed(control).  Plants grown under online drip system  produced the highest yield and lowest weed emergence were observed when using this irrigation system.

Figure 2.5.6: Online Drip System                                   


Figure 2.5.7:  Micro-sprinkler system


Figure 2.5.8: Inline System                                                     


Figure 2.5.9: Rainfed


Figure 2.5.10: Total yield achieved under different systems