Principals Behind Hydroponic Farming

Hydroponics is a kind of Hydroculture, in which plants are developed without soil, by utilizing water solvent which comprises of minerals and nutrients in a solution. Terrestrial plants may be developed with their roots only, which is completely submerged in the nutritious solution.

WHY HYDROPONICS ?

Sustainable farming arrangements in nations with arid climates have caused an expanded interest in hydroponic farms, which are farms that practice developing plants without soil in a nutrient-rich water solution. Moreover, since of its financial feasibility and capacity to serve as a possible solution to countries decreasing accessibility of fertile soil or clean and excess water, this practice of farming settles numerous of the issues that challenge year-round development. Combined with dry spell conditions and the vagaries of global warming, Africa agriculturalists are fighting a drastic decrease in the availability of locally developed food for Africa expansive populace.

PRINCIPAL BEHIND WORKING OF HYDROPONICS

Now the principle behind the working of this system is that there is a continuous stream of water flowing near the roots of the plant and there is plenty of oxygen discharged in the stream of water to provide enough oxygen for the growth of plant, apart from that nutrients are supplied through the stream of water to the roots of the plant from where it can directly uptake all the nutrients.

HYDROPONICS VS TRADITIONAL FARMING

This system of hydroponics is far more efficient than the traditional method of farming in a soil media, where the efficiency of nutrient and oxygen uptake is very poor and there are a countless number of micro-organisms and insect or pests ready to feed on the crop and reduce the yield drastically. Hydroponics is also a beneficial method of reducing the cost of cultivation as the amount of fertilizers, pesticide, herbicide etc. is reduced or cut to zero. The major problem faced by the farmers is infestation of weeds in the field where they plant their crop but in a system like this there is almost negligible weed competition.

High Return on Low Investment

This method of farming is really beneficial for the cultivation of high value horticultural crops like Kale, Lettuce, Strawberry, Cucumber etc. which all have a rising demand in the hotel and food industry. Cultivation of such crops can provide the farmer with a huge margin in the profits he earns as the cost of cultivation is reduced and the price is increased due to better quality produce and on top of that there is huge reduction in the crop losses faced in traditional farming methods. Setting up of a hydroponics system is just a one-time investment with very low maintenance cost and also one can set up a kitchen garden using this system.

ADVANTAGES OF HYDROPONICS

• Plantation without Soil – We can grow plants in places where the soil is infertile, unavailable or contaminated.
• Better Utilization of Space and Area – All the nutrients that plants will require during its growth and development is given and maintained in a system. The roots submerged in the nutrient solution are directly in contact with all the crucial minerals.
• Climate Control – Hydroponic producers can have total control on climate, temperature, humidity, light, and air composition. This implies that plants can be grown all year round without a problem, provided the conditions for its growth are met in the hydroponic environment. This enables farmers to grow crops in the opportune months wherein the supply is less than the demand.
• Water Sparing – Plants developed by the method of hydroponics ordinarily don’t waste much water, as compared to the one developed on the field. This is because water is recycled in Hydroponics. Water loss in this system can only happen in two ways, either by evaporation or spills from the system.
• Use of nutrients – There is complete control of the nutrients that plants need in this method. Before planting, growers can check the plant’s requirement and the amounts of nutrients needed at particular stages and at what percentage it should be mixed with water.
• Better growth rate – There is better growth rate because we can set conditions favourable to the plant’s growth, like temperature, light, moisture, and especially nutrients. As plants are placed in favourable conditions, nutrients are provided at the sufficient amounts and come into direct contact with the root system. Therefore, plants do not waste valuable energy in search for diluted or available nutrients in the soil as everything is provided in a usable form directly to the plant.