Students with a vegetable planting project do not need soil

In the context of rampant dirty food, the cultivation of hydroponic vegetables is considered one of the solutions to have a clean source of vegetables for meals. Being aware of this problem, the "Farmers" group with young "farmers " from the University of Economics and Polytechnic University (under the University of Danang) began to build a program of growing clean vegetables with The name "Greendy hydroponic vegetable growing project".

The 6-member "Farmer" group is Nguyen Hoai Duc, Pham Viet Toan, Nguyen Dinh Tri, Nguyen Duong Phuong, Duong Tan Khanh (University of Economics) and Phan Dinh Tung (Polytechnic University). The project was started when you entered the contest " Danang Startup Runway 2016 Startup Idea".

Model of intelligent hydroponic system.(Character image provided).

With the characteristics of a competition to find a startup idea, teams must have unique initiatives with high applicability in practice. Over 3 months with many examinations and workshops, exchanges under the training of experts, the idea of "Farmers" gradually improved and reached the finals, in the top 10 export ideas. Best of the competition.

"Initially implementing the project, the group also encountered many difficulties because most of the members of the group are students of Business Administration Department (University of Economics), who are amateurs in the field of technology so the construction Building the system also faces many difficulties , " said Nguyen Dinh Tri.

Processor of the system.(Character image provided).

Greendy is a hydroponic system of home-grown vegetables by the hydroponic method, users are fully capable of providing clean vegetables at home. The system has 2 main parts, including Greendy hydroponic rig and Greendy application running on smartphone (smartphone).

Hydroponic gantry is made up of the main material of PVC, stainless steel truss frame, design design can be customized according to customer requirements. To be able to operate, the system uses pumps and sensors related to factors such as pH, temperature, flow, volume, water level; At the same time, install additional Wifi transceiver module to connect to smartphone. Hydroponic solution provides nutrition and helps plants grow optimally in water environment, including 3 main elements: Sodium - Phosphorus - Potassium and elements such as Nitrogen, Calcium, Magnesium and trace elements such as zinc , Iron,.

Users can interact with 2-way system via smartphone.(Character image provided).

The system will operate according to the programmed data in the processor, users only need 3 steps to get a safe and clean vegetable source. Three steps are sowing seeds, choosing vegetables to grow from Greendy application installed on smartphones, finally . picking fruits and vegetables to eat.

Also from Greendy application, users can customize the system by changing the water pump mode setting, changing the formula of hydroponic solution. The application also provides instructions for using the system; Providing delicious recipes with vegetables and recipes for dieters; At the same time, sharing useful knowledge about nutrition of vegetables and fruits, recommending menu by week - month based on biological characteristics of users.

Currently, Greendy application only runs on the original platform is the Android operating system so you also want to develop the application on two other platforms, WindowPhone and IOS in the near future.Estimated cost to produce a basic hydroponic system is 7 million VND.

The project won the third prize at the Danang Runway Startup 2016 Startup Contest.(Photo: Doan Le).

The advantage of the system lies in the ability to apply automation technology (adjust pH, temperature suitable for each type of tree, control via smartphone, .) as well as allow 2-way interaction. between users and smart hydroponic systems. However, in groups, the system still has some points to improve."Since the product is in demo form - the version is not complete, we want to upgrade more in terms of technology, thereby expanding the scale of the system before thinking about promoting products to the market" , Nguyen Dinh Tri said.

With the creative idea and feasibility of the system, "Greendy hydroponic vegetable growing project" has been highly appreciated by the judging committee and won the third prize at the Danang Runway Startup 2016 Startup Ideas Contest. ".

Planting vegetables (plants) by hydroponics is a technique of growing plants without soil. This technique provides plants with all the essential nutrients in water soluble form. With this method of growing, the roots are surrounded by a mixture of sterile substrates such as coconut fiber, husk husk, lava, . Hydroponics is suitable for the dominant farming conditions such as planting on the terrace, ban public house. Vegetable plants grown by hydroponic methods are considered to be the cleanest. Plants grow fast but do not have chemical residues on plants, ensuring safety for users.