Hyponica is a method of growing plants based on the use of air and water. It was first demonstrated in public in 1985 by agronomist Shigeo Nozawa in a tomato plant project for the Tsukuba Science and Technology Expo. He was successful in growing more than 12,000 giant "hyponica tomatoes" per plant by giving the young plants only fresh water and fertilizer. He commented: "The only thing I did was remove conditions that would be hazardous to the trees' growth. I just facilitated their fullest self-realization."