Dr.r.k.dhuria hydroponics aks, new delhi

1. Challenges of Climate Change:
Experience Related to Ayurvet ProGreen
Hydroponics Technology
Dr. R.K. Dhuria
Professor & Principal Investigator
Livestock Feed Resource Management and Technology Centre
Rajasthan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Bikaner

2. What is Hydroponics?

3. Cultivation of
plants
without
soil, using
water as a
medium to
supply all
the
requisite
nutrients
What is Hydroponics?

4. The word hydroponics has been derived from the
Greek word where 'Hydro’ means water and
‘Ponic’ means working, i.e. Water working
Plants require 3 things to
flourish-
Water, Nutrients & Sunlight
Hydroponics is a straight forward way of providing all
these nutrients without the need of soil under
controlled environment conditions to optimize the
growth of plants.

5. Why Hydroponics?
Fresh green fodder is the natural food for all
ruminant animals.
However, due to climatic conditions, succulent spring-like
grass is only available for a short period in any
one year and not available at all in many arid and
semi-arid regions of the country.
With hydroponics machine, uncontaminated,
consistent & succulent green feed is available 365
days of the year regardless of location or weather.

6. Why Hydroponics?
The shortage of fodder & its low quality are the
main cause of low productivity.
In connection with this, the seasonal deficit of
vitamins in specific and all nutrients in general
in the ration of animals can be made up by the
fodder grown by the
Hydroponics Method

7. Why Hydroponics?
In the current scenario,
it is the demand of day to search for ways
to perfect the technology of growing
Hydroponics Fodder
in the direction of increasing the yield &
decreasing the resource consumption
thereby reducing the cost of production.

8. Hydroponics Technology
In Hydroponics machine,
crop is grown in
controlled
environmental
conditions with a
temperature range of
15-32oC
&
a relative humidity of
80-85%
Controlled light is let in
through suitably glazed
windows.

9. Crop is grown
in multilayer
shelves
Each day 20-40
trays are
harvested
yielding up to
240-480 kg of
fresh green
feed.

10. 20-40 trays are planted
on 7-8 day continuous
cycle.
Each tray provides 10-12
kg of fresh feed when
harvested.
Biomass conversion
ratio is of the order of
6-8 times.
The production of green
feed is a continuous
process.

12. The conventionally harvested green fodder consists only
of cut grass but the Hydroponics feed consists of
Grass along with Grain and Root

13. Advantages of Hydroponics Technology
Water Saving
The water requirement in hydroponics technology is
very less as water can be applied and replied
continuously.
It takes just 2 to 3 liters of water to produce 1 Kg of
green feed as compared with 80-90 liter/ day required
in conventional system.
Water that is not used by the growing fodder is not
wasted, as it is recycled & reused again.

14. Advantages of Hydroponics Technology
Marginal Land Usage
On an average it requires
less than 1/12th of the
space needed by
conventional agriculture
to grow same amount of
produce.
Under hydroponics technology, about 480 kg maize
fodder can be produced daily in seven days only in 450
square fit area. It is estimated that to produce the same
amount of fodder, about 1 hectare land is required.

15. Advantages of Hydroponics Machine
Constant Feed Supply
Hydroponics technology
will remove the need for
Long Term Storage
of feeds
With hydroponics machine, a consistent supply of
green fodder is guaranteed 365 days of the year
irrespective of rain, storm, sunshine or snow

16. Advantages of Hydroponics Technology
Reduction in Growth Time
The growing time of hydroponics plants takes as little as
7 days from seed germination to a fully-grown plant at a
height of 20- 30 cm, ready for harvest.
The biomass conversion ratio is as high as 6-8 times.
Besides, there is no need of costly soil preparation for
fodder production, constant weed removal, fencing etc.
There is no post-harvest loss of fodder as seen in the
conventional practices as the hydroponics fodder can be
produced as per the daily requirement.

17. Advantages of Hydroponics Technology
Reduced Labour Requirement
This process requires minimal man-hour ratio/day.
Only two people are sufficient to work in the
hydroponics system to produce 480 kg hydroponics
fodder daily.
2 to 3 hours per day, needed to maintain & produce
hydroponics fodder, as compared to the many hours
of intense labour required for growing the same
amount of feed as a pasture crop.

18. Advantages of Hydroponics Technology
Enhancement of Nutritional Value
The hydroponics fodder looks like a mat of 20-30cm
height consisting of germinated seeds embedded in
their white roots and green shoots.
The germinated seeds
embedded in the root
system are also consumed
along with the shoots of
the plants, so there is no
nutrient wasting.

19. Hydroponic fodder is a highly
nutritious feed, contains 3 times
more protein as compared to
conventional fodder.
It has high energy content, Vitamin A & E content
and very high moisture content.
The hydroponics fodder is more nutritious than the
conventional fodder.
The nutrient changes during the growth of hydroponics
fodder are increase in the crude protein, ether extract,
nitrogen free extract and decrease in crude fibre, total
ash and acid insoluble ash.

20. Advantages of Hydroponics Technology
Safe for Consumption
An important factor about
growing green feed in
hydroponics machine is that
there are no pesticides or
fungicides used that could
alternatively contaminate the
milk or meat that are being
produced.
It is completely free of harmful chemicals

21. Advantages of Hydroponics Technology
Improving Animal Health
The seasonal deficit of vitamins
in the ration of animals can be
made up by the fodder grown
through hydroponics technology.

22. Advantages of Hydroponics Technology
Feeding livestock hydroponically produced feed may increase the
milk production and improve upon the general health & fertility.

23. Advantages of Hydroponics Technology
Making Land Available for Food production
The use of lesser grazing areas to feed livestock could in turn
provide more acreage for food crop production thus improving
the economy & sustainability of land.
This system also eliminates additional pressure on an already
over worked irrigation system.

26. Thank You