FEFU scientists managed to create an organic fertilizer composition, which is designed for growing plants in a groundless environment. It is based on a substance from anfeltia algae — the Far Eastern marine inhabitant contains a large number of trace elements. The resulting nutrient concentrate is as close as possible in composition to natural soils, and has already confirmed its effectiveness during the first experiments.
In addition to water and sunlight, plants need trace elements and a number of other components for development. Their presence or absence affects not only the size, taste, smell and color, but also the amount of vitamins contained in the fruit. It is believed that in natural conditions all the necessary elements of the plant are taken from the soil and natural water.
However, in order to provide densely populated territories with food, where fertile lands are limited, people have to resort to growing a large number of vegetables in an artificial environment. We are talking about hydroponics – high-tech systems in which shoots receive nutrition not from the soil, but from the solution surrounding the roots. Ideally, its composition should be as identical as possible to the natural soil and at the same time have a consistency close to water, so as not to clog the numerous filters and pumps through which the solution circulates.
Reference: organic VS mineral fertilizers
There are several ways to simulate soil microelements. The first is with the help of mineral additives, which are produced chemically. On the one hand, it is a simple and cheap option to create a complex of elements necessary for plants. On the other hand, the taste indicators of fruits grown on such fertilizers can be very much inferior to vegetables grown in natural soil, since the composition of additives is limited.
The second method is organic fertilizers, which have a natural basis and are created from natural products. They allow you to saturate plants with the necessary elements, while maintaining “natural” tastes and smells. However, “organic matter” is quite difficult to obtain in liquid form, it may also contain pathogens and impurities, so they are used very little in hydroponic systems — it is expensive and inefficient on a large scale of enterprises.
In order to achieve improved taste properties, cocktails of mineral and organic fertilizers are used in hydroponics, which are combined in different proportions. The effectiveness of such formulations is high, however, the cost of fertilizers for Russian enterprises is often higher than mineral ones, since many components are of foreign origin.
Cheaper, bigger, tastier
Despite the above difficulties, FEFU scientists managed to create components of organic fertilizers from anfel algae intended for hydroponic systems. The resulting product, in addition to a large number of nutrients, is saturated with fulvic acid – a natural conductor of trace elements to the cells of the plant roots. The fertilizer has good filtration properties and is similar in consistency to soy sauce. Special preparation of raw materials and further process of ultrasonic extraction allows to exclude pathogens. The resulting safe and effective nutrient concentrate is diluted in water in a ratio of 1 to 100 or 1 to 300, depending on the crops.
“The experiments have already shown that the current composition of the fertilizer is not inferior in efficiency to top mineral fertilizers. The salad grown on our product is comparable in size to the one grown on imported solution. At the same time, the cost of our fertilizer is lower, and the value of vegetables will be higher, since they are more nutritious and of high quality,” said Alexey Belov, project manager, Ph.D., Professor of the Department of Monitoring and Development of Geo—Resources at the FEFU Polytechnic Institute.
According to the scientist, experiments with the obtained nutrient solution are continuing, and the composition of the industrial sample will be modified in such a way as to match the economic efficiency of mineral fertilizers.
In addition, a team of scientists together with students is studying the effect of specific trace elements on the organoleptic properties of plants. Researchers are trying to create an ideal composition of elements that gives vegetables the greatest benefit.
It is in demand both in the Arctic and in space
According to the representatives of the project, organic hydroponics is a promising direction not only for large greenhouses. A large market for such fertilizers is remote objects, for example, shift settlements, polar explorers’ stations, long–distance vessels. Here, the need for fresh vegetables can be closed with the help of modular containers-greenhouses, which will allow you to grow fresh greens in sufficient volumes. The compositions for such small hydroponic complexes should be as balanced as possible so that residents of remote villages and enterprises can diversify their diet with delicious and nutritious vegetables.
Another big area is the provision of food for space stations with a long period of stay. Hydroponics can not only close the need for fresh vegetables, but also relieve the stress load of astronauts, who are especially pleased to see live plants far from their home planet. Already today, space agencies around the world are investing a lot of money in the development of power systems for colonies on Mars and long-term space missions. According to Alexey Belov, one of the products being created at FEFU will be aimed at developing nutrient solutions for remote facilities.
“When it comes to hydroponics systems for long-term space missions, the question of organic fertilizers is very acute. A person can eat unbalanced vegetables grown on chemical fertilizer for a couple of months without much discomfort. But if the space journey will last for decades, then functional and high—quality nutrition is necessary here,” the project manager noted.
Recall that the development of new types of organic fertilizers in FEFU is carried out within the framework of the “Priority 2030” program and the Advanced Engineering School “Institute of Biotechnology, Bioengineering and Food Systems”. The aim of the project is to develop new world–class agrobioengineering CRF technologies, as well as to create an effective and affordable product line of fertilizers from local resources of the Far East.
A source: https://poisknews.ru
