Sophomore Oral

Defense
Anna Ussery
Introduction
• The overarching goal was to broaden the use of hydroponics in urban
areas by making hydroponics easier
• Hydroponics would be adequate for personal consumer use, but it isn’t
being utilized
• Started small and focused on the hydroponic method simplicity for the
consumer and in turn make it more accepted by the urban population
• If the nutrients were pre-measured and pre-packaged, then it would
make the overall process easier and more accurate (because of the
elimination of human error during either delivery of measurement)
• Hypothesis : If nutrients are pre-measured, then this would create a
controlled water solution that would help plant growth
Literature Review
• Most  background research was used to support the hydroponic
method was a necessity and what plants and testing method needed to
be considered
• In most sources authors supported the same claim that hydroponics
needs to be more widely used  but because of the complications of the
steps, most of the population does not use hydroponics
• Other scholars found that water nutrients played a big part in plant
growth and keeping the water solution livable for the plants that were
being grown.
Research Methodology

• To test the idea of pre-measured nutrients in a water

solution, a prototype was made and tested against a
control (a hydroponic system with random measured
nutrients)
• Polyvinyl alcohol was used as a water-soluble film to
enclose the premeasure nutrient (about 2 grams), and this
would be delivered to the water solution every other day
• A random amount of nutrients was delivered at the same
time, and this was the control 
• Engineering Goal:  To create a water-soluble pre-measured
nutrient packet to create the correct water solution
Findings and Discussions
• The premeasured nutrients did keep the pH balanced and
controlled (the pH was key to creating the ideal water
solutions, so this is what I used to measure
consistency/success in the water solution)
• The bubbles caused by polyvinyl alcohol got in the way of the
plants’ roots to the point where they could not effectively
absorb the right amount of nutrients
• Whether the prototype truly would have positively impacted
the plants is unknown
Bottom: random measured nutrient system after
experimentation
Top: premeasured nutrient system after experimentation
Experiment Results
Implications & limitations

• Cost and plant health was a big problem

•  The hydroponic system, its accessories (testing
equipment), and the plants, were very expensive
• They were very susceptible to disease (root rot),
and hydroponic fungi, and hydroponic fungus
gnats
• To prevent this, I could have started with straight
seeds, and gemmated them in a hydroponic 
• These are the bubbles that formed around the
roots of the pre-measured hydroponic system 
 Conclusions

• My research concluded that with premeasured nutrients, a water solution’s

pH can be controlled
• Including bio fungicide and mycorrhizae to a prototype with a gelatin film
would be included in future research
• The project proved that keeping an ideal water environment can be easier,
but whether it improves the success of the plants is inconclusive
• Disclaimer – All pictures in this presentation were a part of this project
(opening slide contains a picture from where the plants were bought)
Reflection
This pathway was selected for a science fair project
because there is a lot of growth and progress that can be
explored in the future concerning hydroponics.
Progression in urban areas through utilization of scientific
methods is the best way to positively progress as a
society. If hydroponics was used to its full extent, farming
in the future would be more self-sufficient and more
environmentally compatible. Personally, the experience in
hydroponics that got through this project really helped me
learn more in different areas in science.