 Decision
Support for Growing High Quality, High Yield Hydroponic Vegetables
This site is intended to help hydroponic tomato
growers decide how to adjust important growing parameters
to allow for the production of high quality tomatoes. Air
temperature, feeding solution pH, root temperature, feeding
solution electrical conductivity and relative humidity are
all parameters which are easily measured and controllable
in a hydroponic greenhouse. These parameters also have optimal
ranges depending on the growth stage of the tomato plant and
whether it is night/day and/or sunny or cloudy. These factors
taken together can determine the chance of having a successful
crop. Extensive scientific literature research has been conducted
to determine the optimal values for these parameters and their
interactions. Scientific methods, particularly utility theory,
risk assessment, and decision support theory have been used
to support real tomato growing recommendations that can be
made from optimal values. These methods also support the application
of a decision support algorithm which can decide what parameters
need to be altered and in what order such that those parameters
which pose the greatest risk to the crop are to be changed
first.
Ways to Access This Information
There are two ways to help growers determine the needs of
their crop in this site. The first is the Graphical
Primer, the second is the Interactive
Decision Support System. The user may also find out more
about the Science Behind This Site.
_thumb.jpg) Graphical
Primer
The Graphical Primer allows
the user to explore the optimal ranges for the growing parameters.
This is done by presenting graphs which may be different for
a single parameter depending on the growth stage of the plant
or certain climatic conditions.
 Interactive
Decision Support System
The Interactive Decision Support
System is an algorithm written in Java which presents
an interactive user interface. The user may enter the current
values of the growing parameters the crop is experiencing
and the algorithm will then determine which values need to
be changed and the order of urgency for each of those parameters.
This algorithm may also be used as a learning tool - hypothetical
parameters may be entered, allowing the user to experiment
with different growing scenerios.
Both Methods, graphical and interactive versions, are also
useful learning tools. If you wish, simply to increase your
expertise in hydroponic tomato growth, feel free to explore
and interact with all aspects of this site.
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