Purdue engineer receives major USDA AFRI Award for hydroponic project
Source: HD.com
Purdue College of Agriculture engineer Caitlin Proctor, who recently received a major grant from the USDA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), is studying potential solutions to these problems. "We think of hydroponics as super-controlled," Proctor, an assistant professor in agricultural and biological engineering and sustainability engineering and environmental engineering, says.
We saw an opportunity to improve how we measure and monitor these microbes to develop early warning systems." Proctor will work with Purdue Agriculture faculty Roland Wilhelm, assistant professor of agronomy, and Celina Gomez, associate professor in horticulture and landscape architecture, and Soledad Benitez Ponce, a plant pathology associate professor at Ohio State University, to improve sampling procedures, develop biofilm capture devices, and create methods of using 'good' bacteria to outcompete bad bacteria. © Purdue University Caitlin Proctor To sample biofilms within a hydroponics system, researchers must currently swab the tanks' "nooks and crannies." There are no established guidelines for these measurements, and results are often inconsistent.
To determine effective methods for seeding good bacteria into hydroponics systems, Proctor and her team will test different ways of adding these so-called microbial inoculants. "The project will benefit growers by helping them understand their microbiome and be proactive rather than reactive," Proctor says.
Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?
Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.
What is the operator takeaway from this trial?
If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.
