Project
Local production of nitrate from air for fertigation of plants
During a thunderstorm a plasma is created in the air by lightning bolts, in which active oxygen and nitrogen compounds are formed. These compounds reach the soil through rainwater, where they react to plant nutrition in the form of nitrate. This process is captured in technology by VitalFluid, to produce a plasma in air in a controlled way and add nitrogen to a nutrient solution.
In a USDA-organic cultivation it is difficult to add nitrogen fertilizer in a controlled way. VitalFluid wants to investigate and demonstrate that it is possible to apply nitrogen fertigation in a controlled way in a USDA-organic cultivation of tomato with their technology. The approval process for their technology to reach the organic market is in request. To prove the concept, a cultivation experiment is conducted, in which a traditional hydroponic USDA-organic cultivation is compared to a cultivation with plasma added nitrate fertilizer from the VitalFluid technology. Productivity and product quality are investigated, as well as the efficiency of nitrogen uptake by the crop. The cultivation period will be from May to November, drain water will be recirculated.