Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 324 views

    Hydroponics

    Uploaded by

    André Brincat
    Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil by using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent. Key advantages include increased yields, less labor, and the ability to grow crops anywhere. However, it also requires specialized equipment and nutrient solutions must be carefully balanced and monitored. Common hydroponic systems include nutrient film technique (NFT), aeroponics, and ebb and flow. Nutrient solutions and water quality are essential to provide plants with the necessary nutrients and pH levels while avoiding toxic buildup.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Hydroponics

    Uploaded by

    André Brincat
    324 views40 pages
    Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil by using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent. Key advantages include increased yields, less labor, and the ability to grow crops anywhere. However, it also requires specialized equipment and nutrient solutions must be carefully balanced and monitored. Common hydroponic systems include nutrient film technique (NFT), aeroponics, and ebb and flow. Nutrient solutions and water quality are essential to provide plants with the necessary nutrients and pH levels while avoiding toxic buildup.

    Original Description:

    Hydroponics

    Copyright

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Available Formats

    PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil by using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent. Key advantages include increased yields, less labor, and the ability to grow crops anywhere. However, it also requires specialized equipment and nutrient solutions must be carefully balanced and monitored. Common hydroponic systems include nutrient film technique (NFT), aeroponics, and ebb and flow. Nutrient solutions and water quality are essential to provide plants with the necessary nutrients and pH levels while avoiding toxic buildup.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    324 views40 pages

    Hydroponics

    Uploaded by

    André Brincat
    Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil by using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent. Key advantages include increased yields, less labor, and the ability to grow crops anywhere. However, it also requires specialized equipment and nutrient solutions must be carefully balanced and monitored. Common hydroponic systems include nutrient film technique (NFT), aeroponics, and ebb and flow. Nutrient solutions and water quality are essential to provide plants with the necessary nutrients and pH levels while avoiding toxic buildup.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    You are on page 1of 40
    At a glance
    Powered by AI
    Some of the key takeaways from the document are that hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil by using an inert medium and nutrient solution, there are different systems like NFT, aeroponics, ebb and flow that are described, and factors like water quality, pH and nutrient balance need to be carefully managed.

    The different hydroponic systems described include standing aerated nutrient solution, nutrient film technique (NFT), aeroponics, ebb and flow.

    Some of the advantages mentioned are crops can be grown when soil is poor, reduced labor, conservation of water and nutrients, and limited soilborne diseases. Some disadvantages are higher initial costs, need for trained personnel, quick spread of disease through water, not all plants are suitable, and dependence on constant electricity supply.

    HYDROPONICS

    A Glimpse into the Future of Food Cultivation


    Malcolm Borg

    What is Hydroponics?
    The science of growing plants without the use of soil, but by use of an inert medium, such as gravel, sand, peat, vermiculite, pumice or sawdust, to which is added a nutrient solution containing all the essential elements needed by the plant for its normal growth and development. (Resh, 1995)

    Why is Soil needed for Plant Growth?


    Anchorage Water Nutrients

    Hydroponics vs. Soilless Culture


    Hydroponics: plant roots suspended in a nutrient solution; Soilless Culture: plants grown in an inorganic (e.g. sand, gravel, perlite) or organic (e.g. sphagnum peat moss, cocnut fiber) medium

    Advantages
    Crops cultivated when soil is poor; Reduced labour (tilling, de-weeding, etc.); Conservation of water and nutrients (no leaching, recycling of resources) Limited soilborne plant diseases; Can be adapted to small areas, indoor places etc. Vertical space can be used and thus an increased yield can be obtained.

    Disadvantages
    Original cost Trained personnel necessary for nutrient mix etc. Quick spread of disease through water Not all plants grow in this system Depends on constant electrical suppl

    Closed vs. Open systems

    Standing Aerated Nutrient Solution


    Requirements:
    Rooting Vessel Nutrient Solution Pump to bubble air to add oxygen

    Periodic replacements of solution every 5 to 10 days; Water loss replaced daily using nutrientfree water or diluted nutrient solution. Nutrient solution composition is therefore continuously changing.

    Nutrient Film Technique (NFT)

    Plant roots are suspended in a trough through which a nutrient solution passes. Trough set on a slope. As the nutrient solution slows down the trough, plants at the upper end of the trough reduce the oxygen and/or elemental content of the nutrient solution. Trough should therefore not be too long (approx. 9 metres). As the root mat becomes denser, water flows around the roots and thus reduce the contact between the roots and the solution.

    NFT systems are usually closed systems: solution is recovered and reused. Problem with nutrient build-up and variations in pH. Preferably needs a starting and a top-up solution. Electrical conductivity will indicate when to add top-up solution and when to discard whole solution (and make a new one).

    For Tomatoes

    Aeroponics

    Roots growing in air Good oxygenation of roots Droplet size and frequency of exposure of the roots to the nutrient solution are the critical factors.

    Ebb and Flow

    Made up of: watertight rooting bed, inert rooting medium (e.g. gravel, sand etc.), pump to move nutrient solution from sump to growing bed(s) and a piping system. This is a closed system and therefore nutrient solution is recirculated until no longer usable.

    Timing schedule for flooding the growing beds will depend on the atmospheric demand and the stage of growth for the crop, as well as the water-holding capacity of the growing medium.

    Organic Media Cultures


    Nutrients still supplied to plants. Have absorptive properties and therefore act more like soil. Examples include sphagnum peat moss, coconut fiber and composted milled pinebark.

    Media have buffering capacity and therefore can store elements.

    Peat
    High porosity Good aeration High water-holding capacity Low pH Light (inexpensive to transport) Low anion exchange capacity

    Coir
    Mesocarp of coconut Can have high levels of salts Has significant amounts of micronutrients

    Wood Fibre
    Made from wood not bark Low pH Low EC High level of porosity Low level of available water

    Inorganic media can be used


    Either alone or mixed with organic media Mostly are clay particles and are pest-free Include
    Perlite (light, porous, hold a lot of water, neutral pH, no buffering capacity) Vermiculite (porous, hold a lot of water, high CEC due to positive charge) Expanded clay (light, porous, expensive, neutral pH, no cation exchange or buffering capacity)

    PERLITE

    VERMICULITE

    EXPANDED CLAY

    Other media include


    Rockwool Sand and others

    Leaching
    The medium must have a leaching fraction to: (a) maintain EC and (b) keep oxygen levels adequate for plant growth.

    Water
    All hydroponic/soilless cultures require sizeable quantities of relatively pure water. Analysis of water is essential. Water may contain good quantities of Ca and Mg. It may also contain amounts of Na. Pesticides and herbicides can significantly affect plant growth. Ions in the water can be removed by a reverse osmosis plant.

    The pH of water varies over a wide range. pH will vary depending on the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed, ratio of cations to anions, type of ions and their concentration in the solution. A saturated solution of calcium sulphate will be acidic because this compound is a salt between a strong acid and a weak base.

    Water sterilization:
    UV Ozone

    Costs Effectiveness debatable for certain pathogens

    Nutrient Solution
    With continuous use in a closed recirculating system, the nutrient solution is altered with each passage through the root mass and rooting medium, not only chemically by the removal of elements by plant root absorption but also through additions produced by the sloughing off of root material.

    Many researchers have come up with a large number of nutrient solutions for a number of crops. Nutrient solutions must have the following characteristics:
    Properly balanced with all necessary nutrients; pH should be kept at an optimum range Must have no ions present in toxic amounts or at levels that may interfere with other ions; Avoid precipitation; Total salt concentration must be kept between 1500 and 4000ppm (a high EC will inhibit correct functioning of the plant e.g. poor leaf formation)

    Example: Source of N
    Urea Nitrite Nitrate Ammonium content? Nitrification decreases under low temperature Cation antagonism

    Aquaponics

    Nutrients provided by the mineralization of fish manure. Nutrients supplied continuously. Fish used include tilapia, trout, perch and koi. Sedimentation and biological filtration required. Biological filtration is not needed for mediumbased hydroponics. Pesticides and other substances toxic to fish cannot be utilized.

    You might also like

    pFad - Phonifier reborn

    Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

    Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


    Alternative Proxies:

    Alternative Proxy

    pFad Proxy

    pFad v3 Proxy

    pFad v4 Proxy