Aeroponics Root Chamber Temperature Conditioning Design for Smart Mini-Tuber Potato Seed Cultivation

Abstract

The aeroponic plant root environment has a significant role in producing high-quality seed tuber potatoes. However, in lowland and tropical regions, the aeroponic system cannot yield high-quality potato seed because the average environment temperature year-round is high. In a high-temperature environment, the potato plant roots cannot optimally absorb the nutrient solution for healthy plant growth. This paper presents the method used to maintain the aeroponics root chamber temperature conditions. An air conditioning system was adopted to supply air with the optimal temperature range for mini-tuber potato seed cultivation. The vapor compression refrigeration type was applied in the air conditioning system. The root chamber temperature is controlled and monitored using an Arduino Uno board system. The mini-tuber potato seed cultivation field experiment results show the proposed method can maintain the aeroponic root chamber temperature. The root chamber temperature treatment operated in the 10 °C–20 °C range. This temperature range improved the potato seed tuber yield. The potato seed tuber yield potential is observed from the stolon number produced by the mini-tuber potato plants cultivated in the root chamber with the conditioned temperature. The field experiment reveals that the stolon number produced by potato seeds cultivated in the root chamber with conditioned temperature was up to 77% greater than the number of potato seeds cultivated in the root chamber with the unconditioned temperature.