Introduction
Q. What is Hydroponics?
Growing plants without soil is known as hydroponics. It might sound weird, but Let's take a closer look at hydroponics and find out …!
Q. Why do we even need hydroponics?
Mother earth is capable enough to feed us, why people even need this kind of farming?
Here are the facts and some of my thought process.
1. The amount of food we are growing is not enough.
2. Just to make this food available for everyone, the price of the food is controlled by the government and other bodies making it loss for farmers.
And we turned towards vertical farming, low priced, good quality food at mass production.
Let’s understand a few bitter facts.
Vertical farming is being hailed as a solution to the planet’s growing food shortage problem. Today, our planet has around 7 billion inhabitants. By 2050, that number is predicted to grow to close to 10 billion people. One argument in favor of developing this technique is that there are currently around 700 million individuals who suffer from undernourishment, although this number is rapidly decreasing. The fear is that there will not be enough arable land by 2050 to feed an additional three billion people, especially given the fact that most of this population growth will occur in Asia and Africa, which are struggling with the amount of arable land they have.
Can current agriculture sustain our future? The answer is ‘NO’.
Can current pricing of agriculture good sustain the economy? The answer is ‘NO’.
Q. How does it work?
The science of soil-less gardening is called hydroponics. It basically involves growing healthy plants without the use of a traditional soil medium by using a nutrient like a mineral rich water solution instead. A plant just needs select nutrients, some water, and sunlight to grow.
Q. What Are the Benefits of Hydroponics?
· The benefits of hydroponic farming give it an advantage over field farming.
· Standard field farming practices have seen a lot of negative press, from concerns about soil erosion to massive water consumption to food-borne illness breakouts.
· The hydroponic farming industry solves many of these concerns.
· Hydroponic systems are soil-less, water-based farming processes. Rather than using soil for plant nutrition, crops are fed nutrient-rich water, negating a lot of the baggage that comes with soil-based methods.
In this article, you’ll learn 10 benefits of hydroponic farming.
1. Saves Space
Plants grown in soil need to spread their roots in order to find water and all the nutrients they need to survive. This means they must be planted a certain distance apart from each other.
In hydroponic systems, roots don’t need to spread because water and nutrients are delivered right to them.
As a result, hydroponic systems can grow more plants in the same amount of space as soil-based systems.
2. Water Conservation
Did you know field farms account for 80% of the United States’ water use?
Field farming uses so much water because so much of it is lost. Water evaporates, rolls away, and puddles, making much of it unusable. That’s a lot of waste!
Hydroponic systems use about 10 times less water because it’s delivered in a controlled way. Plus, some systems recirculate water, reducing consumption even more!
3. Fewer Chemicals
While hydroponic systems don’t eradicate pest issues, it does lower the potential of this happening, resulting in less need for pesticides and herbicides.
Hydroponic systems are highly controlled so there’s no risk of weeds taking over your garden. As a result, there’s no need for herbicides.
Plus, because hydroponic systems are often indoors, pests can’t infiltrate them as easily, so pesticides aren’t necessary.
4. Faster Growth
Plants grown in hydroponic systems grow 30% to 50% faster than those grown in soil.
Crops grow faster in hydroponic systems because they receive an ideal amount of nutrients and, if grown indoors, have less environmentally induced stress (like weather and pests).
Some species are faster than others. For example, leafy greens like lettuce and thirsty fruits like tomatoes tend to grow faster in hydroponic systems.
5. Nutrient Control
Hydroponic systems feed plants a nutrient solution mixed with water, giving the farmer better control over what nutrients their crops soak up.
Cultivar grown in soil may need the help of fertilizers to survive. But in hydroponics, the plants are already receiving all the help they need and the right amount of it.
Do your research and make the right measurements, and the crops will have everything they need to survive just from their water.
6. Grow Indoors
Another benefit of hydroponic farming is that it’s easy to do indoors.
Growing indoors comes with its own benefits such as the ability to grow year-round, temperature and climate control, and fewer pests.
Hydroponic systems are usually implemented indoors because of the environmental control it offers. With near perfect growing conditions, plants grow stronger and faster.
7. Healthier Plants
In hydroponic farming, plants grow healthier than in soil.
For one thing, soil-borne diseases aren’t an issue in hydroponics because there is no soil for those diseases to fester and spread in.
Plus, plants don’t have to spread their roots out in search of nutrients so they get to spend more energy on growing.
8. Bigger Yields
Because more plants can be grown in small spaces with hydroponic farming than soil farming, hydroponic systems typically yield more per square foot.
Additionally, plants are healthier and grow faster, generating more produce faster.
Indoor conditions also allow for year-round growing, regardless of weather or season, so plants’ that continue to produce after the initial harvest can be harvested more times.
9. No Soil Erosion
Field agricultural practices have eroded half of the soil on Earth in the last 150 years, decreasing the availability of arable land.
Hydroponic systems don’t use soil.
No soil means no soil erosion. It’s that simple.
10. No Weeds
Hydroponic systems are not habitable for the seeds of weeds.
Weeds need the same things as other plants to sprout, but seeds aren’t typically sowed in hydroponic systems. That way the system can be tailored to the growing phase rather than germination.
Since the seeds can’t start germinating, weeds won’t take root and steal your crops’ precious nutrients.
Now that you know the benefits of hydroponic farming, it’s time to get started ….short overview of hydroponics that is The principal advantages of hydroponic controlled environment agriculture (CEA) include high-density maximum crop yield, crop production where no suitable soil exists, a virtual indifference to ambient temperature and seasonality, more efficient use of water and fertilizers, minimal use of land area, and suitability for mechanization, disease and pest control. The major advantage of hydroponic (CEA) compared to field grown produce is the isolation of the crop from the soil, which often has problems of diseases, pests, salinity, poor structure and/or drainage.
Hydroponics can play a vital role in changing the way we think about plant growth and may well be the future of gardening and farming.
Have you ever wanted to grow your own vegetables or herbs at home but were unable to do so for lack of space? If so, hydroponic gardening could be the answer you’ve been looking for.
Reference:
1) Hydroponics Online Course : www.hydroponicmasterclass.com
2) Hydroponic vegetable farming in India-Complete information about hydroponic system : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygGUe-q3cww
3) Hydroponics - A short introduction : https://youtu.be/Y7cGd0JHrs4
Blog Author: Dipti Bhaskar Shelke
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