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Research Article

volume 41 special issue (april 2021) : 211-214,   Doi: 10.18805/ag.D-5215

Urban Rooftop Farming – Model for Sustainable Vegetable Production and Environmental Well-being

P
Pawan U. Gajbe
1Department of Zoology, Shri Mathuradas Mohota College of Science, Umred Road, Nagpur- 440 009, Maharashtra, India.
Cite article:- Gajbe U. Pawan (2020). Urban Rooftop Farming – Model for Sustainable Vegetable Production and Environmental Well-being. Agricultural Science Digest. 41(2021): 211-214. doi: 10.18805/ag.D-5215.

ABSTRACT

Background: Urban rooftop farming is a form of urban agriculture. Due to the scarcity of agricultural land in urban areas, rooftop farming is becoming popular in many countries. An experiment was conducted to grow herbs and vegetables in a small and sustainable urban rooftop farm in Nagpur city, India and the various ecological benefits of this form of urban agriculture were studied.
Methods: The experiment was conducted on a 230 sq ft rooftop area from July 2019 to March 2020. Environment friendly cultivation methods employed in the study include pest management by cultural means to produce pesticide-free vegetables, conversion of household green waste into compost for augmentation of soil nutrients and the use of harvested rain water and greywater for irrigation.
Result: The experiment resulted in the production of 61.7 kg of pesticide-free vegetables from an area of 230 sq ft using sustainable farming methods. Apart from this, the various ecological benefits obtained from the experiment point to the fact that sustainable urban rooftop farming can be an innovative means to promote urban agriculture without harming the environment.

REFERENCES

  1. Al-Jayyousi, O.R. (2003). Greywater reuse: towards sustainable water management. Desalination. 156(103): 181-192. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0011-9164(03)00340-0.
  2. Buehler, D. and Junge, R. (2016). Global trends and current status of commercial urban rooftop farming. Sustainability. 8: 1108. http://doi.org/10.3390/su8111108.
  3. Gorgich, M., Mata, T.M., Martins, A., Caetano, N.S., Formigo, N. (2020). Application of domestic greywater for irrigating agricultural products: A brief study. Energy Reports. 6 (Supplement 1): 811-817. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr. 2019.11.007.
  4. Grard, B.J.P., Bel, N., Marchal, N., Madre, F., Castell, J.F., Cambier, P., Houot, S., Manouchehri, N., Besancon, S., Michel, J.C., Chenu, C., Frascaria-Lacoste, N., Aubry, C. (2015). Recycling urban waste as possible use for rooftop vegetable garden. Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society. 3(1): 21-34.
  5. Hennig, E.I. and Ghazoul, J. (2012). Pollinating animals in the urban environment. Urban Ecosystems. 15: 149-166. http://doi. org/10.1007/s11252-011-0202-7.
  6. Lee, G.G., Lee, H.W., Lee, J.H. (2015). Greenhouse gas emission reduction effect in the transportation sector by urban agriculture in Seoul, Korea. Landscape and Urban Planning. 140: 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.03. 012.
  7. Loan, L.T.T., Takahashi, Y., Nomura, H., Yabe, M. (2019). Modeling home composting behavior toward sustainable municipal organic waste management at the source in developing countries. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 140: 65-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.08.016.
  8. Maconachie, R., Binns, T., Tengbe, P. (2012). Urban farming associations, youth and food security in post-war Freetown, Sierra Leone. Cities. 29: 192-200. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2011.09.001.
  9. Pollard, G., Roetman, P., Ward, J. (2017). The case for citizen science in urban agriculture research. Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society. 5(3): 9-20.
  10. Razzaghmanesh, M., Beecham, S., Salemi, T. (2016). The role of green roofs in mitigating urban heat island effects in the metropolitan area of Adelaide, South Australia. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening. 15: 89-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2015.11.013.
  11. Rowe, B. (2018). Green roofs for pollutants’ reduction. In: Pérez, G. and Perini, K. (eds.) Nature based strategies for urban and building sustainability. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UK, pp. 141-148.
  12. Sanyé-Mengual, E., Orsini, F., Oliver-Solà, J., Rieradevall, J., Montero, J.I., Gianquinto, G. (2015a). Techniques and crops for efficient rooftop gardens in Bologna, Italy. Agronomy for Sustainable Development. 35: 1477-1488. http://doi.org/10.1007/s135 93-015-0331-0.
  13. Sanyé-Mengual, E., Anguelovski, I., Oliver-Solà, J., Montero, J.I., Rieradevall, J. (2015b). Resolving differing stakeholder perceptions of urban rooftop farming in Mediterranean cities: promoting food production as a driver for innovative forms of urban agriculture. Agriculture and Human Values. 33(1): 1-20. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-015-9594-y
  14. Summy, K.R. and King, E.G. (1992). Cultural control of cotton insect pests in the United States. Crop Protection. 11(4): 307-319.
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    Research Article

    volume 41 special issue (april 2021) : 211-214,   Doi: 10.18805/ag.D-5215

    Urban Rooftop Farming – Model for Sustainable Vegetable Production and Environmental Well-being

    P
    Pawan U. Gajbe
    1Department of Zoology, Shri Mathuradas Mohota College of Science, Umred Road, Nagpur- 440 009, Maharashtra, India.
    Cite article:- Gajbe U. Pawan (2020). Urban Rooftop Farming – Model for Sustainable Vegetable Production and Environmental Well-being. Agricultural Science Digest. 41(2021): 211-214. doi: 10.18805/ag.D-5215.

    ABSTRACT

    Background: Urban rooftop farming is a form of urban agriculture. Due to the scarcity of agricultural land in urban areas, rooftop farming is becoming popular in many countries. An experiment was conducted to grow herbs and vegetables in a small and sustainable urban rooftop farm in Nagpur city, India and the various ecological benefits of this form of urban agriculture were studied.
    Methods: The experiment was conducted on a 230 sq ft rooftop area from July 2019 to March 2020. Environment friendly cultivation methods employed in the study include pest management by cultural means to produce pesticide-free vegetables, conversion of household green waste into compost for augmentation of soil nutrients and the use of harvested rain water and greywater for irrigation.
    Result: The experiment resulted in the production of 61.7 kg of pesticide-free vegetables from an area of 230 sq ft using sustainable farming methods. Apart from this, the various ecological benefits obtained from the experiment point to the fact that sustainable urban rooftop farming can be an innovative means to promote urban agriculture without harming the environment.

    REFERENCES

    1. Al-Jayyousi, O.R. (2003). Greywater reuse: towards sustainable water management. Desalination. 156(103): 181-192. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0011-9164(03)00340-0.
    2. Buehler, D. and Junge, R. (2016). Global trends and current status of commercial urban rooftop farming. Sustainability. 8: 1108. http://doi.org/10.3390/su8111108.
    3. Gorgich, M., Mata, T.M., Martins, A., Caetano, N.S., Formigo, N. (2020). Application of domestic greywater for irrigating agricultural products: A brief study. Energy Reports. 6 (Supplement 1): 811-817. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr. 2019.11.007.
    4. Grard, B.J.P., Bel, N., Marchal, N., Madre, F., Castell, J.F., Cambier, P., Houot, S., Manouchehri, N., Besancon, S., Michel, J.C., Chenu, C., Frascaria-Lacoste, N., Aubry, C. (2015). Recycling urban waste as possible use for rooftop vegetable garden. Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society. 3(1): 21-34.
    5. Hennig, E.I. and Ghazoul, J. (2012). Pollinating animals in the urban environment. Urban Ecosystems. 15: 149-166. http://doi. org/10.1007/s11252-011-0202-7.
    6. Lee, G.G., Lee, H.W., Lee, J.H. (2015). Greenhouse gas emission reduction effect in the transportation sector by urban agriculture in Seoul, Korea. Landscape and Urban Planning. 140: 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.03. 012.
    7. Loan, L.T.T., Takahashi, Y., Nomura, H., Yabe, M. (2019). Modeling home composting behavior toward sustainable municipal organic waste management at the source in developing countries. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 140: 65-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.08.016.
    8. Maconachie, R., Binns, T., Tengbe, P. (2012). Urban farming associations, youth and food security in post-war Freetown, Sierra Leone. Cities. 29: 192-200. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2011.09.001.
    9. Pollard, G., Roetman, P., Ward, J. (2017). The case for citizen science in urban agriculture research. Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society. 5(3): 9-20.
    10. Razzaghmanesh, M., Beecham, S., Salemi, T. (2016). The role of green roofs in mitigating urban heat island effects in the metropolitan area of Adelaide, South Australia. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening. 15: 89-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2015.11.013.
    11. Rowe, B. (2018). Green roofs for pollutants’ reduction. In: Pérez, G. and Perini, K. (eds.) Nature based strategies for urban and building sustainability. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UK, pp. 141-148.
    12. Sanyé-Mengual, E., Orsini, F., Oliver-Solà, J., Rieradevall, J., Montero, J.I., Gianquinto, G. (2015a). Techniques and crops for efficient rooftop gardens in Bologna, Italy. Agronomy for Sustainable Development. 35: 1477-1488. http://doi.org/10.1007/s135 93-015-0331-0.
    13. Sanyé-Mengual, E., Anguelovski, I., Oliver-Solà, J., Montero, J.I., Rieradevall, J. (2015b). Resolving differing stakeholder perceptions of urban rooftop farming in Mediterranean cities: promoting food production as a driver for innovative forms of urban agriculture. Agriculture and Human Values. 33(1): 1-20. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-015-9594-y
    14. Summy, K.R. and King, E.G. (1992). Cultural control of cotton insect pests in the United States. Crop Protection. 11(4): 307-319.
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