The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana has succeeded in getting the national patent by developing indigenous hybrid hydroponics technology, the first “swadeshi technology in soilless farming in India,” the university said in a statement.
“In a communication received from the patent office, Government of India, it is stated that patentee is granted a national patent for inventing ‘improved water and nutrient perforation and re-circulation system for pot-based substrate hydroponics,’” said PAU.
The research was conducted by Dr. V. P. Sethi, professor and head of, department of mechanical engineering, PAU, in which an innovative pot-based Hybrid Hydroponics Technology (HHT) was designed, developed, and tested for better plant growth, more water, and nutrient savings and higher yield inside a semi-automatic micro-climatically controlled greenhouse.
The HHT combines the features of two separately existing hydroponics technologies — Substrate Hydroponics Technology (SHT) using soilless porous root media and Shallow Water Pond Hydroponics Technology (SWPHT) — thereby converting it into a more effective single hybrid technology. The developed technology was tested by growing cucumber, tomato, and capsicum for two years, during which it was established that much faster growth and higher yield was obtained as compared to existing pot-based (bato bucket, Dutch technology) and grow bag-based (non-recirculation type, Israeli technology) soilless technologies.
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