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A root zone heating system and vermi-bed technique for plants in high-altitude settings have been created by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur. Officials claim that the method, for which the researchers were also given a patent, was developed with the dearth of fresh produce in high-altitude regions like the Ladakh region and the absence of efficient organic waste disposal in mind.

When it comes to the supply of fresh produce and the management of organic waste, the high-altitude regions provide serious challenges, particularly for our armed personnel, which need to consume a lot of fresh produce on a daily basis. Fresh produce cannot always be obtained due to the environment and weather, according to Abhay Karandikar, Director of IIT Kanpur. Therefore, he continued, "this novel technology of the root zone heating system and vermi-bed method developed by the team at our institute is an important step towards helping especially our defense forces deployed there with fresh vegetable supply and a solution to effectively mitigate organic waste."

The team claims that the technology's fundamental tenet is a greenhouse (polyhouse) plantation of vegetables and a provision for the heating of the plants' root zones. By burying a network of GI (Galvanized Iron) pipes delivering solar-heated water and combining aluminum sheet fins with the buried GI pipes to improve heat transfer, root zone heating is scientifically examined and predicted. Depending on the temperature of the hot water flowing through the GI pipes, a significant temperature increase in the soil (7 degrees Celsius to 18 degrees Celsius) was attained throughout the testing. Compared to plants grown outside at relatively moderate temperatures, those planted in this heated environment grew faster and healthier. According to Anubha Goel, professor of the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Kanpur, such a system at high altitude regions can improve the agricultural cycle to yield fresh vegetables even in winter circumstances. She continued, "Results were forecasted for high altitude places where the temperature goes to -15 degrees C and below. This technology was field-tested and provided an efficient solution for generating good quality vegetables in a protected environment.

In order to address the problem of waste management, organic waste was also treated on-site by vermicomposting inside the polyhouse in a pit, where additional heat was given to the vermi-bed by pouring hot water through underground rubber pipes. As a result, this technology created a symbiotic system that improves the availability of fresh food in high-altitude regions throughout the winter and offers ways to produce almost no waste. By growing desired vegetables in a protected environment like a greenhouse with solar-powered root zone heating, the technology can help our troops stationed in high-altitude areas become largely self-sufficient in terms of the fresh food supply. At the same time, it will help with managing organic waste. maintained by continuing high-temperature vermicomposting," says MTech student Anshul Rawat. Therefore, we have a system where vegetables can be grown and waste produced may be turned into compost and then used to grow vegetables at the same green and polyhouse. This represents a mutualistic system with an integrated circular economy, he continued.