HYDROPONICS

 

HYDROPONICS

Hydroponics is a technique of growing plants in a soilless medium in a nutrient solution. Hydroponics is also known as “Controlled Environmental Agriculture”. The word hydroponics is derived from Greek words, “hydro” meaning water and “ponos” meaning labor, literally meaning “working water”. The concept of hydroponics is becoming popular due to its requirement of less area for the cultivation of a variety of crops as arable land area is decreasing due to urbanization and industrialization. On the other hand with the increasing population, the demand for food is increasing. And this technique can act as an alternative to conventional agriculture systems.

In the world, France is the leading producer of hydroponic produces followed by countries like Netherlands and Spain. The global hydroponics market is estimated at USD 9.5 billion in 2020. Hydroponics is thus expected to a potential solution to meet the increasing global demand.

Advantages of Hydroponics:

1. Saves area

Hydroponics can be started anywhere as it requires very area. Root development is less in the hydroponics system so less area is occupied by individual plants and the density of plants can be increased. Hydroponics when combined with vertical gardening can save up to 90% land area than typical farming techniques

2. Saves Time

Plants, when grown in the hydroponics system, grow faster than they would in the soil due to the absence of mechanical disturbances and completes their life cycle in a shorter period. This property enables the farmer to take more crops in the same place in a year.

3. Saves resources

Water once used in the system can be reused, which can avoid the constant need for a fresh water supply. Hydroponics uses only 1/20th of water as compared to traditional farming. Since the chances of diseases and insect attacks are negligible the plant protection cost can be avoided reducing the cost of cultivation and increasing the profit.

 

4. Crops are not influenced by Climate

No need to worry about seasonal change as crops can be grown throughout the year. The choice of crops can be decided by market demand, not by climatic conditions.

5. Good quality produce

Constant and readily available nutrients are provided, thus promoting a good crop stand. And there is no chance of soil-borne insect or disease attack or weed infestation too. Weather extremes affect both the quantity and quality of the produce. Since the hydroponics system is free from abiotic stresses the quality of the product is good

6. Environmental friendly

Hydroponics gardening put an end to the use of pesticides or weedicides.

7. Saves Labor

Almost all the hydroponics systems are fully automated so the requirement of labor is less.