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Hydroponic

New technologies are coming up every day in the world. As the world population is growing, the agriculture industry is also developing new techniques to grow food in lesser space and by saving water. The hydroponic growing system is a step towards this.
Hydroponic System is a system of growing crops without soil, often called soilless farming. In the hydroponic system, the plant roots grow in a liquid nutrient solution or inside the moist inert materials like Rockwool and Vermiculite. The liquid nutrient solution is a mixture of essential plant nutrients in the water.
The plant roots are suspended either in the static liquid solution or in a continuously flowing nutrient mixture. The hydroponic growing system requires continuous attention to the crops, unlike the traditional farming system.
Hydroponic System is a system of growing crops without soil, often called soilless farming. In the hydroponic system, the plant roots grow in a liquid nutrient solution or inside the moist inert materials like Rockwool and Vermiculite. The liquid nutrient solution is a mixture of essential plant nutrients in the water.

Materials:

Storage container or bucket   Net pots  Air pump with air stone Hard Water Liquid Nutrients (A & B) pH Down  pH meter  Measuring beaker  Pipettes  Hole saw with arbor  Drill 

Benefits of Hydroponics

They can help solve problems without excessive use of space or water, are known to produce vegetables with high nutrient content, and produce vegetables faster than traditional growing methods.

  1. Maximizes Space:
    2.  Hydroponics requires far less space than plants grown in soil. Depending on the system, when hydroponics are combined with vertical farming techniques, they can use up to 99 percent fewer lands than typical farming techniques. .
  2. Conserves Water:
    3.  It may seem counterintuitive, but growing plants in water actually use less water than growing the same plants in soil. In fact, hydroponic plants can grow with up to 98 percent less water than traditional growing methods.
  3. Facilitates a Micro-Climate:
    4.  plants can be grown year-round, regardless of the climate or weather outside. And with artificial grow lights, even the amount of sun available isn’t a problem
  4. Produces Higher Yields:
    5.  Creating ideal conditions ensures plants receive the perfect amount of nutrients, which come in direct contact with roots. Additionally, microclimates allow for year-round growth and faster crop cycles.
  5. Require Less Labor:
    6. Without the need for tilling, weeding, herbicide and insecticide application, and other labor-intensive farm jobs, hydroponics offers a lighter load for laborers and can easily be managed with far fewer man-hours.
  6. Needs No Soil:
    7. The world is quickly losing workable soil. It’s estimated that half of the world’s topsoil has been lost in the past 150 years. This is due to erosion, compaction, loss of soil structure, nutrient degradation, and salinity. What does this mean for agriculture? We have a growing number of mouths to feed and a shrinking amount of soil to plant.
  7. Produces Higher Quality Food:
    8.  When it comes to fruits and vegetables, fresher is unmistakably better. Few people happen to live in an area where they can get fresh produce year-round due to climate and soil conditions. So how do we get high-quality food into the hands of the majority of the world’s population, even in the offseason?
  8. Reduces Supply Chain:
    9. Of course, there are more benefits to growing produce locally than the ripening process and its benefits. At traditional commercial growing operations, lots of water and energy is used to grow crops and maximize outputs. Then crops are harvested using even more energy
  9. Predictability and Seasonalit:
    10.  We’ve all seen it. Buy strawberries in the middle of the summer and they’re cheap, fresh, and delicious. Try to buy them in the winter months and you might pay as much as three times the price for berries that don’t taste nearly as good. Seasonality is an unfortunate reality for traditional farming methods.
  10. Crops Grow Faster:

    11. Most fruits and vegetables take several months to reach maturity using traditional methods. Plants must take their nutrients from the soil, which can be a slow process. What nutrients they absorb are often wasted through the maturing process

Types of hydroponic system

The growing methods for each type of crop can be different so as the hydroponic system. When you are choosing between the various hydroponic systems, knowing about the basics of that system will help you in making the decision.
Here is a quick go through some of the hydroponic systems:

Standing Aerated Nutrient Solution: ​

This system is commonly known as DWC (deep water culture) system. Standing aerated nutrient solution is a hydroponic system in which the nutrient solution is static, suspending the plant roots in the nutrient solution. Replacement of nutrient solution is required every 5 to 10 days (frequency depends on the number of plants and system volume).
A crop like lettuce can be successfully grown in this system on Styrofoam sheets floating on an aerated nutrient solution.​

Nutrient Film Technique (NFT):​

Nutrient Film Technique, gully channels are used in this system to grow plants, the nutrient solution keeps flowing in these gully channels. A pump connected to the reservoir pumps the nutrient solution to the NFT channels.
One of the advantages of the NFT is the easy installation of the system and the relatively low cost of the materials.

There are two different types of NFT system:

  • Horizontal NFT System
  • Vertical NFT System

Aeroponic System:​

Aeroponic System drastically reduces the amount of water used in growing crops. In this system, plant roots get their nutrients and water through the aerosol mist sprayed on them. Plant roots get the oxygen from the air while suspending. Aeroponic System is comparatively challenging to manage but much more economical in the use of nutrients and water.


Dutch Bucket Grow System​

As the name is depicting, this system uses buckets to grow plants. These buckets can vary in size, depending on the requirement of the grower. The bucket has a growing media like vermiculite to support the growing plant.​ Plants having much larger roots are grown with the help of the Dutch Bucket system like tomato and cucumber.

How much does it cost to set up a Hydroponic farm in one Acre?

Adaptation of new technologies makes you feel more confident about yourself. When it comes to adapt those technologies in the farm business, people usually took their foot back. The reason behind this is not having precise information about it. If you are thinking of setting up your dream hydroponic farm, we are here to assist you in your path of success.We will talk about those things here that take up a large part of your investment in the hydroponic farm.
Land on which the hydroponic farm will set up:

Choosing where to set up your hydroponic farm is crucial. The land should have proper access to electricity, water, and a nearby market.


​ Outer Structure:​

The outer structure of the hydroponic farm provides a protected environment for the crops. There are two types of outer structure mainly, one is polyhouse type, and the other is the greenhouse type. Both the structure has distinct advantages.


Growing System:​

The growing system depends on the type of plant you want to grow in your hydroponic farm. If you are planning to crops like lettuce, kale, the NFT system will be suitable, and if you need to grow vegetable crops like tomato and cucumber, the Dutch bucket system will be fit.


Temperature and Irrigation Controlling System:​

The temperature controlling system will maintain an optimum temperature for the growth of crops. The irrigation system will irrigate or pumps the nutrient solution to the growing system and continuously monitors the moisture.​