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Vol. 3, Issue : 1

Friday, November 27,

Innovate to empower agriculture

Sustainable Agriculture gives hope for future

Soilless agriculture, hydroponics, Aeroponics and drip irrigation
SONG OF YOUTH technologies - a alternative farming gives rise to future farming

As per the Nov 2009, Scientific Ameri- does not exist. Agriculture also uses 70 percent of
As a young citizen of India, can (Reference: www.scientificamerican.com) the worlds available freshwater for irrigation, ren-
armed with technology, report on Sustainability by Dickson Despommier, dering it unusable for drinking as a result of contami-
it was reported that by 2050, the demographers nation with fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and silt.
knowledge and love for my predic- tion was If current trend continue, safe drinking water will be
nation, I realize, small aim is a that the planet impossible to come by in certain densely populated
crime. will host regions. How to handle this alarming situation? The
9.5 scientific American articles dwells length on how
some agronomists believe that the solution lies in
I will work and sweat for a even more intensive industrial farming, carried out
great vision, the vision of by an ever decreasing number of highly mechanized
transforming India into a farming consortia that grow crops having higher
developed nation, powered by yields - a result of genetic modification and more
powerful agrochemicals. Even if this solution were to
economic strength with value
bil- be implemented, it is a short-term remedy at best,
system. lion because the rapid shift in climate continues to
people rearrange the agri-
I am one of the citizens of the and cultural landscape,
billion; Only the vision will each of foiling even the
us will most sophisti-
ignite the billion souls. required at cated
least 1500 strate-
It has entered into me ; The calories a day. gies.
ignited soul compared to any Hence civilization needs
to cultivate in another
resource is the most powerful 2.1 billion acres if
resource on the earth, above farming continues
the earth and under the earth. to be practiced
as it is today.
That much
I will keep the lamp of new,
knowledge burning to achieve arable
the vision - Developed India earth
If we work and sweat for the simply

great vision with ignited

minds, the transformation
leading to the birth of
vibrant developed India
will happen.

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HYDROPONICS Sustainable Agricultureat EPCOT, Disney Land, Orlando

What is more, if we continue wholesale deforestation just to generate new farm-
Hydroponics land, global warming will accelerate at an even more catastrophic rate. And far greater vol-
(from the Greek umes of agricultural runoff could well create enough aquatic dead zones to turn most estu-
aries and even parts of the oceans into barren wastelands. The article advocates the radical
words hydro water change. One strategic shift would do away with almost every ill just noted: grow crops in-
and ponos labor) is doors, under rigorously controlled conditions, in vertical farms. Plants grown in high-rise
a method of grow- buildings erected on now vacant city lots and in large, multistory rooftop greenhouses could
ing plants using produce food year-round using significantly less water, producing little waste, with less risk
mineral nutrient of infectious diseases, and no need for fossil-fueled machinery or transport from distant rural
solutions, in wa- farms. Vertical farming could revolutionize how we feed ourselves and the rising population
ter, without soil. to come. Our meals would taste better, too; locally grown would become the norm. Dick-
son Despommier a professor at Columbia University and the President of vertical farm pro-
Terrestrial plants
ject suggested growing crops in skyscrapers and would use less water and fossil fuel than
may be grown outdoor farming, eliminate agricultural runoff and provide fresh food. Engineers, urban plan-
with their roots in ners and agronomists who have scrutinized the necessary technologies are convinced that
the mineral nutri- vertical farming is not only feasible but should be tried.
ent solution only
or in an inert me- On 23 Oct 2009, Dr Kalam and his delegation visited EPCOT (Experimental Proto-
dium, such as per- type Community of Tomorrow) located in the Disney Land, Florida, USA. What a beautiful
scene of soil less agriculture and its growth of the plants using hydroponic and aero phonic
lite, gravel, or
mineral wool.

Good for many

vegetables such as
tomatoes, spinach
and berries.

technologies. Dr Kalam and his delegation

visited EPCOT where actual experimentation
is taking place in agricultural technology.
EPCOT has several large greenhouses (2.5
million square feet!) which not only produce
much of the food for EPCOT inhabitants
(including Mickey Mouse shaped vegeta-
bles), but has been at the forefront of experi-
ments with high-tech and high-yield indoor
plant growing techniques such as hydropon-
ics for years. We spent the considerable
amount of time at EPCOT hovering around
the LAND exhibit and going on behind-the-
scenes tours of EPCOTs greenhouses.
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AEROPONICS Sustainable Agricultureat EPCOT, Disney Land, Orlando

The most tomatoes harvested from a single plant in one year weighed 522.464 kg
Aeroponics is a (1151.84 lbs). The tomato plant is at the EPCOT Science Project at Walt Disney World Com-
system where pany in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA. The harvest started on 24 May 2005 and ended on 20
roots are continu- Apr 2006 as per Guinness World Records. The entire agri-tech research center area has been re-
ously or discon-
tinuously kept in
an environment
saturated with
fine drops (a mist
or aerosol) of nu-
trient solution.
The method re-
quires no sub-
strate and entails
growing plants
with their roots
suspended in a
deep air or growth
chamber with the
roots periodically
wetted with a fine
mist of atomized
nutrients. Excel-
lent aeration is
the main advan-
tage of Aeropon-
ics.

Good for root

crops such as po-
tatoes, carrots
etc.,

branded under the name of sustainability and now includes a public exhibition on agricultural technol-
ogy and global ecology called Living With Land a rousing exhibit on farming and agricultural innova-
tion which takes the very 1950s-esque position that humanity can solve its food shortages and environ-
mental problems by improving agricultural technology. First stop on the Behind the Seeds Tour was a
look at what you can do with vine plants (like tomatoes) when you remove the constraints of gravity.

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DRIP IRRIGATION Sustainable Agricultureat EPCOT, Disney Land, Orlando

This amazingly huge Tomato-tree below, with thousands of ripening tomatoes all on one
Plants grow in plant, was achieved simply by providing a matrix of structural support for the entire plant, enabling it to
grow much bigger than it ever could under ordinary circumstances where gravity would be weighing it
troughs of light-
weight, inert ma-
terial, such as ver-
miculite, reused
for years. Small
tubing on the sur-
face drips nutrient
laden water pre-
cisely at each
stems base. Good
for grains (wheat,
Corn).

down. The study of crop

nutrition began thousands of
years ago. Ancient history
tells us that various experi-
ments were undertaken by
Theophrastus (372-287 B.C.),
while several writings of Dio-
scorides on botany dating
from the first century A.D.,
are still in existence.

Researchers discovered in the

19th century that plants ab-
sorb essential mineral nutri-
ents as inorganic ions in wa-
ter. In natural conditions, soil
acts as a mineral nutrient
reservoir but the soil itself is
not essential to plant growth.
When the mineral nutrients in
the soil dissolve in water,
plant roots are able to absorb
them. When the required mineral nutrients are introduced into a plant's water supply artificially, soil is
no longer required for the plant to thrive. Almost any terrestrial plant will grow with hydroponics. Hy-
droponics is also a standard technique in biology research and teaching.

Hydroponic technology was also used copiously throughout the EPCOT greenhouses growing
lettuce, herbs, and a variety of other plants simply out of water and nutrients. You might be thinking to
yourself, So what? What is the benefit of growing vegetables without soil? Actually there are a lot of
benefits to this high-tech growing method. First of all, soil-less hydroponic systems often give plants
more nutrition allowing them to grow faster while at the same time consuming less energy and space.
They use less water than crops grown the natural way, and also allow growers to stack plants closer
together and on top of one another, so they are a more efficient way to produce food. Finally, hydro-
ponic crops like lettuce can often be shipped alive in their water solution to their destination, allowing a
higher degree of freshness in produce for consumers. There are stacked gardens vertically stacking
plants using STYROFOAM pots for all their plants.

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HIGH RISE CROPS Sustainable Agricultureat EPCOT, Disney Land, Orlando

It was found that hydroponic crop yields were no better than crop yields with good quality
A 30 - Story ver- soils. Crop yields were ultimately limited by factors other than mineral nutrients, especially light. Soil-
less culture is a broader term than hydroponics; it only requires that no soils with clay or silt are used.
tical farm would Note that sand is a type of soil yet sand culture is considered a type of soilless culture. Hydroponics is a
subset of soilless culture. Many types of soilless culture do not use the mineral nutrient solutions re-
exploit different quired for hydroponics.

growing tech- Most container plants are produced in soilless media, representing soilless culture. However,
most are not hydroponics because the soilless medium often provides some of the mineral nutrients via
slow release fertilizers, caution exchange and decomposition of the organic medium itself. Most soilless
niques on various media for container plants also contain organic materials such as peat or composted bark, which provide
some nitrogen to the plant. Greenhouse growth of plants in peat bags is often termed hydroponics, but
floors. Solar cells technically it is not because the medium provides some of the mineral nutrients.

and incineration
of plant waste
dropped from
each floor create
power. Cleansed
city waste water
would irrigate
plants instead of
being dumped into
the environment.
The sun and artifi-
cial illumination
would provide
light. Incoming
seeds would be
tested in a lab and
germinate in a
nursery. And a
grocery and res-
taurant would sell
fresh food directly
to the public.
(Refer: www.scientific
American.com) The rise
of vertical farms by
Dickson Despommier.

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Sustainable Agricultureat EPCOT, Disney Land, Orlando

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Sustainable Agricultureat EPCOT, Disney Land, Orlando

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Sustainable Agricultureat EPCOT, Disney Land, Orlando

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Sustainable Agricultureat EPCOT, Disney Land, Orlando

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Sustainable Agricultureat EPCOT, Disney Land, Orlando

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Sustainable Agricultureat EPCOT, Disney Land, Orlando

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Sustainable Agricultureat EPCOT, Disney Land, Orlando

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Sustainable Agricultureat EPCOT, Disney Land, Orlando

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Biofuel Vision by Sustainable Agricultureat EPCOT, Disney Land, Orlando

Dr. APJ Abdul kalam
The Transpor-
tation sector in
India is the fast-
est growing en-
ergy consumer.
We import nearly
$ 54 billion
(Rs.2,20,000
crore) of oil an-
nually and this
bill is continu-
ously increasing.
Our indigenous
oil production
meets only 25%
of our total re-
quirement.

Hence, there is
an urgent need
to find alterna-
tive fuels and en-
ergy sources
since the cost of
crude oil is hov-
ering around
US$95 per barrel
after touching
US$ 145. One of
the promising
areas for the
country is pro-
duction of bio-
fuels in the case
of transporta-
tion.
Dr Kalam
called for a Bio-
diesel Confer-
ence towards
Energy Inde-
pendence in
Rashtrapati
Nilayam, Hy-
derabad on (PTO)

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 E-Paper billion beats 15

Biofuel Vision Sustainable Agricultureat EPCOT, Disney Land, Orlando

on 9th and 10th
Today, hydroponics is an established branch of agronomy. Progress has been rapid, and results
June 2006, where obtained in various countries have proved it to be thoroughly practical and to have very definite advan-
all the stake- tages over conventional methods of horticulture. The two chief merits of the soil-less cultivation of
plants are, first, much higher crop yields, and second, hydroponics can be used in places where in-
holders (farmers, ground agriculture or gardening is not possible.
entrepreneurs,
marketing agen- Thus not only is it a profitable undertaking, but one which has proved of great benefit to hu-
manity. People living in crowded city streets, without gardens, can grow fresh vegetables and fruits in
cies, researchers, window-boxes or on house tops. By means of hydroponics all such places can be made to yield a regular
policy makers and and abundant supply of fresh greens. Deserts, rocky and stony land in mountainous districts or barren
and sterile areas can be made productive at relatively low cost.
NGOs) actively
participated. The The hydroponic conditions (presence of fertilizer and high humidity) create an environment
conference sug- that stimulates salmonella growth. Another disadvantage is pathogens attacks including damp-off due to
Verticillium wilt caused by the high moisture levels associated with hydroponics and overwatering of soil
gested the follow- based plants.
ing mission mode
actions. Aerophonics.

1. Realizing the Aeroponic techniques have proved to be commercially successful for propagation, seed germi-
production of nation, seed potato production, tomato production, leaf crops and micro-greens. Since inventor Richard
Stoner commercialized aeroponic technology in 1983, aeroponics has been implemented as an alterna-
60 million ton- tive to water intensive hydroponic systems worldwide. The limitation of hydroponics is the fact that 1 kg
nes of bio-diesel of water can only hold 8 mg of air, no matter if aerators are utilized or not.
per annum by
Another distinct advantage of aeroponics over hydroponics is that any species of plants can be
2030 (this grown in a true aeroponic system because the micro environment of an aeroponic can be finely con-
would be 20% trolled. The limitation of hydroponics is that only certain species of plants can survive for so long in
water before they become water logged. The advantage of aeroponics is due to the fact that suspended
of anticipated aeroponic plants receive 100% of the available oxygen and CO2 to the roots zone, stems and leaves, thus
oil consumption accelerating biomass growth and reducing rooting times. NASA research has shown that aeroponically
in 2030). grown plants have an 80% increase in dry weight biomass (essential minerals) compared to hydroponi-
cally grown plants. Aeroponics used 65% less water than hydroponics. NASA also concluded that aero-
2. As a first step ponically grown plants requires the nutrient input compared to hydroponics. Unlike hydroponically
towards reach- grown plants, aeroponically plants will not suffer transplant shock when transplanted to soil. Unlike
hydroponics, aeroponics also offers growers the ability to reduce the spread of disease and pathogens.
ing this target, Aeroponics is also widely used in laboratory studies of plant physiology and plant pathology. Aeroponic
a coordinated techniques have been given special attention from NASA since a mist is easier to handle than a liquid in a
plan for achiev- zero gravity environment.
ing 6 million This research, however, overlooked the fact that hydroponics has other advantages including
tonnes produc- the fact that the roots of the plant have constant access to oxygen and that the plants have access to as
tion by 2010 much or as little water as they need. This is important as one of the most common errors when growing
is over- and under- watering; and hydroponics prevents this from occurring as large amounts of water
which would be can be made available to the plant and any water not used, drained away, re-circulated, or actively
5% of the pre- aerated, eliminating anoxic conditions which drown root systems in soil. In soil, a grower needs to be
very experienced to know exactly how much water to feed the plant. Too much and the plant will not be
sent import of able to access oxygen; too little and the plant will lose the ability to transport nutrients, which are typi-
oil. cally moved into the roots while in solution.
3. To improve
As per Prof Dickson Despommier, for many reasons, then an increasingly crowded civilization
through re- needs an alternative farming method. As we have seen earlier, growing food indoors is already becoming
search, the pro- commonplace. Three techniques drip irrigation, aerophonics and hydroponics have been used success-
fully around the world. In door farming can take place anywhere that adequate water and energy can be
ductivity of seed supplied. In Arizona Desert, 318 acre Eurofresh farms which produces large quantities of high- quality
and extraction tomatoes, cucumbers and pepers 12 months a year. Most of these operations sit in semirural areas,
techniques and however, where reasonably priced land can be found. Transporting the food for many miles adds cost,
consumes fossil fuels, emits carbon-di-oxine and causes significant spoilage. Moving green house farming
expand the area into taller structures within city limits can solve these remaining problems. Dickson envision buildings
under bio-diesel perhaps 30 stories high covering an entire city block. At this scale, vertical farms offer the promise of a
truly sustainable urban life; municipal wastewater would be recycled to provide irrigation water, and
crops towards the remaining solid waste, along with inedible plant matter, would be incinerated to create steam that
achieving 30 turns turbines that generates electricity for the farm. With current technology, a wide variety of edible
million tonnes plants can be grown indoors. An adjacent aquaculture centre could also raise fish, shrimp and mollusks.
oil by 2020 and Integrating food production into city living is a giant step towards making urban life sustain-
60 million ton- able. New industries will grow, as well urban jobs never before imagined nursery attendants, growers
and harvesters. And nature will be able to rebound from our insults; traditional farmers would be en-
nes by 2030. couraged to grow grasses and trees, getting paid to sequester carbon.

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Sustainable Agricultureat EPCOT, Disney Land, Orlando

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Key Concepts Sustainable Agricultureat EPCOT, Disney Land, Orlando

Vertical FARMS Similar green houses can be built and the plants can be grown using the drip irrigation, hyrophon-
ics and aerophonics techniques in the rural areas of India with the help of Self-Help-Groups to reinvigo-
Farming is ruining rate the rural economy by creating a sustainable alternate farming ecosystem from seed to market.
These technologies if properly taken under the well established alternative farming eco-system will cer-
the environment, tainly bring a transformation in the agricultural economy of India. - A Report complied by V PONRAJ

and not enough

arable land re-
mains to feed a
projected 9.5 bil-
lion people by 2050
Growing food in
glass high-rises
could drastically
reduce fossil fuel
emissions and recy-
cle city wastewater
that now pollutes
waterways.
A one square block
farm 30 stories
high could yield as
much food as 2400
outdoor acres, with
less subsequent
spoilage
Existing hydroponic
greenhouses pro-
vide a basis for Photo Source : www.scientificamerican.com
prototype vertical
farms now being
considered by ur-
ban planners in
cities world wide.

The editors of Scien-

tific AmericanNov
2009 issue on Sustain-
ability.

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 WWW.ABDULKALAM.COM
billion beats 18

Innovative Jatropha Farming in Uttar Pradesh

I would like to share with you the innovative sustainable development

accomplished by Dr. DN Tiwari and his team through Jatropha planta-
tion at Allahabad. I have visited this Jatropha village on 26th -27th Sep
2008. Under the leadership of Dr. Tiwari, a NGO has worked near Alla-
habad and converted 735 hectares of waste land into Jatropha produc-
ing land leading to earning of rupees fifty thousand per hectare. For
over 30 to 40 years, this land was barren. Today the Jatropha plantation
has been extended to 30,000 hectares. Also, the village has realized
energy independence through the use of bio-fuel. The villagers do not
use kerosene for cooking or petrol-diesel for running their generators
and jeeps. They crush Jatropha seeds esterify and use it as a fuel. Jat-
ropha cultivation has also been used as a heat shield for banana plan-
tation during summer. Simultaneously, the soil which was alkaline so far
has become neutral, so that they can have shade loving plants in the
same area for enhancing their income. Thus, through innovative use of
Jatropha sustainable economic development has been realized by the
735 farmers in a village. Thus, we can see that innovative use of Jatro-
pha has resulted in social, economic and environmental upgradation of
large number of farmers in Allahabad district in Uttar Pradesh. This year
in the same village, the rural citizen are planting 15 lakh saplings. Such
an approach is needed for promoting sustainable development in many
parts of the country.

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 19

R&D efforts needed on Jatropha

Dr APJ Abdul kalam
Billion Beats
No: 10, Rajaji Marg
New Delhi - 110016
Phone: 011-23015522 Indias waste land (63 million hectares) is spread in differ-
Fax: 011-23793601 ent regions with different climatic conditions and also falls
For publishing send E-mail with
photos to : in the category of rain fed or irrigated land. To cater to this
billionbeats@abdulkalam.com
Feedback through website
variety of soil and climatic conditions research is required to
determine the particular plant variety which will give the
THE PULSE OF INDIA
maximum yield of Jatropha seeds for a given soil condition
and the maximum yield of oil from that particular seed. Also
www.abdulkalam.com research is required to find varieties of species and hybrids
which will start yielding Jatropha seeds early within a year
Chief Editor:
apj@abdulkalam.com
and higher yield of oil content per plant. Based on this re-
Editorial board: search seed farm or stem farm are required to be created
editor@abdulkalam.com for each state and the selected proven seedlings or seed
ysrajan@abdulkalam.com
must be provided to the farmers including the know-how on
rswaminathan@abdulkalam.com
dnmoorthi@abdulkalam.com the number of plants and pattern to be used per hectare,
billionbeats@abdulkalam.com preparation of soil prior to plantation and the right time of
vponraj@abdulkalam.com planting the seeds. Later, farmers should also be advised to
use the right type of fertilizers and organic pesticides in-
Friday, November 27, 2009
cluding trimming methodology and the periodicity. Also
farmer should be given advice on friendly intercropping
Small Aim is a crime
APJ Abdul Kalam
plants which can co-exist with Jatropha and provide en-
hanced revenue to the farmers.

To publish into billion beats: Finally it has to result in establishing number of high
Send your articles, success stories,
yield Jatropha seed banks in the country. Our oil PSUs have
innovations, cartoons, poetry into
billionbeats@abdulkalam.com
successfully carried out blending studies in ethanol and bio
Along with photographs and evidence diesel and today, the entire petrol sold has 5% blending of
documents if any ethanol. Nation has to implement the Ethanol policy based
on Brazil model. Presently, over 354,000 hectares are under
Jatropha cultivation which is likely to increase by 250,000
hectares every year. There is a need to increase the rate at
which additional waste land is being brought under Jatropha
cultivation. Researchers also have to develop varieties of
Jatropha plantation which will give over ten tonnes yield per
acre. I am happy to say that scientists working in research
farms have been able to collect 15 tonnes of cellulosic mate-
rial per hectare from stem trimming and intercropping bio-
waste in Jatropha farms. This cellulosic material can be con-
verted as bio-diesel with the use of yeast. Also, Jatropha
cultivation enable conversion of alkaline soil into neutral
soil. Important aspect is production of 15 tone of cellulose
material consumes 14 tonnes of carbon di-oxide which is
what we desire to have for improving our environment.

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