The Iranian Zoroastrian Chamber of Commerce meeting was held on Saturday, 8th of Mehr (30th of September), with the speech of engineer Jamshid Goodarzi on agriculture based on air cultivation and hydroponics.
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Mehraban Ardeshirian, a prominent member of the Zoroastrian Chamber of Commerce of Iran, in addition to welcoming the participants, introduced Jamshid Goodarzi, as follows:
Eng. Jamshid Goodarzi, senior expert in biochemistry, has 27 years of service experience in the Institute of Standards and the research institute of standards; from 1387 to 1389 (2008 to 2010), he was the head of the biology research group and head of the reference laboratory of the biology group in his work background. At present he is expert in charge of microbiology research group.
Jamshid Goodarzi was requested to start his speech.
Jamshid Goodarzi: Hydroponic means that the root of the plant is not in the soil but in the water flow, in which the nutrients for the plant’s growth are dissolved and given to the root. So, hydroponics means water cultivation. In traditional agriculture, the farmer only sows the seed on the ground. The plant has to receive food from the soil by itself. But with water culture method, humans will provide food to the plant, and the plant will accept it without any effort. With this type of cultivation, the work efficiency is higher. If this work is done in the greenhouse, according to the availability of plant growth conditions, you have crops in all four seasons of the year.
Hydroponic cultivation is based on cultivation in water. Since there is a risk that the roots will rot in water, therefore substrates than soil have been used to prevent this rotting. These hydroponic culture beds should have organic, mineral, and chemical nutrients in their lowest state and even neutral and zero-like properties in this culture bed. It should be neutral regarding acidity and salinity so as not to damage the plant. It can absorb and hold water well to feed the roots as a substrate. It should be sterile and free of diseases, pests, and weeds. Be cheap and available.
Jamshid Goodarzi said the suitable substrates for hydroponic cultivation are cocopeat, vermiculite, plant skin waste, and sand.
Jamshid Goodarzi continued that in some hydroponic systems, plants are grown in neutral materials in long rows or containers and pots individually. A pump does the circulation of the nutrient solution. The plant receives nutrients according to the capillarity of the roots. In some other systems, there is no intermediary, and the roots of the plants hang in water or pure air. Among the six hydroponic system methods, the most common method is the floating active system, in which the nutrient solution is supplied to the plant roots by a pump. The plants grow in long and narrow rows that have a slight slope. In this system, the rows are placed obliquely, and the nutrient solution returns to the main tank due to gravity after moving along the rows. If needed, the pump provides the nutrient solution to the plant again. This cycle will continue until the end of plant growth.
He added: There are six general methods in the hydroponic system to deliver water and nutrients to the plant roots, which are tape, floating, air culture, capillary system, drip system, and immersion. Let me also tell you that only some plants can be cultivated with this method. There is the easy and economical vertical aeroponics system based on hydroponics for planting, growing, and harvesting vegetables in all seasons.
J.Goodarzi than counted the benefits of air cultivation: ability to increase the area under cultivation by 6 to 8 times reduce the cost of building a greenhouse and buying land by 70%, a very significant reduction in the consumption of water, fertilizer, and nutrients from 70 to 90% depending on the seasons. The possibility of planting all kinds of leafy plants, vegetables, medicinal, decorative and some aquatic plants, significantly reduce the risk of pest and plant disease, eliminate the cost of tillage in soil cultivation, prepare the substrate for hydroponic cultivation for several years, reduce the volume of water consumption, reduce the volume of fertilizer, soil and many other things, considered as the fundamental pillar in industrial agriculture have introduced this technology as the best option to increase the agricultural production of vegetables and other leafy plants. For this reason, the largest aeroponic farm in the world is in Dubai. However, heavy capital and very good knowledge of technology is the only disadvantage of this cultivation method.
He pointed out that there are people in Iran who are using this method. He named Mr Boostani as an example and added that Eng. Boostani has been using this method and doing research in this field for a long time. He is ready to help those who want to start this method against the normal consultation fee.
He also said that any plant can be grown in air cultivation except for plants with extensive and deep roots. Only plants with superficial and small roots, like French lettuce, are the best option for this cultivation method.
He then discussed the benefits of this new cultivation system and answered the participants’ questions.
In this meeting, it was proposed to use 32 hectares of land in Qasr-e-Firoozeh cemetery or the Grand Adorian’s land to build a greenhouse to study this new cultivation method and employ young job seekers.
At the end, the Chamber of Commerce presented a commemorative plaque to him.
This meeting started at 18:30 on Saturday, 8th of Mehr, at the Zoroastrian Association of Tehran meeting place and lasted until 20:30.
Below, you can see photos from this meeting.
