Benefits of Hydroponic Cultivation

Benefits of Hydroponic Cultivation

Hydroponic is a soilless cultivation using water mixed with completely soluble nutrients, and various types of substrates [1].  There are a wide variety of soilless growing systems available to individuals and for commercial stage [1]. 

Here are some benefits of growing plants hydroponically:

a.                Water use is more efficient, recirculating [2][3][5]

b.               Environmental contamination limited - the lack of herbicides and pesticides [2][3][5]

c.                Intensive production in cultivation space [2][3][5]
d.               Taste is superior, quality, appearance, uniformity, and shelf life of hydroponic vegetables  is longer [5]

e.                Increase in production [2][4], decrease in production costs such as labour and materials [4]

f.                Crops can be produced all year round [5]

References:

1.  Raviv, M., and Lieth, J. H. (2008). Significance of Soilless Culture in Agriculture. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science. doi: 10.1016/b978-044452975-6.50003-4

2.  Schnitzler, W.H. (2013). Urban hydroponics for green and clean cities and for food security. Acta Hortic. 1004, 13-26
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2013.1004.1
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2013.1004.1

3.  Treftz, C. and Omaye, S. (2016), "Hydroponics: potential for augmenting sustainable food production in non-arable regions", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 46 No. 5, pp. 672-684. https://doi.org/10.1108/NFS-10-2015-0118

4.  Hansen, R. (1999). Chrysanthemums grown in hydroponics; toward development of a cost effective, automated production system. Acta Hortic. 481, 297–304. doi: 10.17660/ActaHortic.1999.481.32

5.  Pak. J. Agri., Agril. Engg., Vet. Sc. 22 (2) 2006.  http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.514.4323&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Nutrient Film Hydroponic Set - Up:

Nutrient Film Hydroponic Set - Up:

The system we will be looking at today is what we call a nutrient film set up. This set up is classified as a recirculating system, as the pants root system is constantly in contact with a flow of nutrient water and recycles runoff water back into its reservoir. The set up pictured above is great for those living in tight living spaces such as small town houses or apartments. This particular set up can be hung up against a wall, there for minimising the space in which it takes up. 

The system is made up of a few different components. The first is a set of four PVC pipes that are stacked on top of each other, much like shelvings for books. These PVC pipes are connected together through metal plates and pillars that have been drilled and screwed into a metal frame. Each PVC pipe (in the pictured set up) holds up too 20 small pots (80 in the whole system). These slots are cut out before hand. A lot of growers view this system as one of the most efficient and low maintenance systems in hydroponics. Once you've set up your preferred frame size, its now time to add in the other components. One of the most important things with this system is selecting a water pump that will cover all your needs. The purpose of the water pump itself is to pump water, which is stored in the systems reservoir tank, to the PVC pipes. The water pumped from the reservoir will trickle in at a steady pace into the PVC piping. Its also important to note that the direct tubing from the water pump in the reservoir should be connected to the top PVC pipe in the system. We do this because the system utilizes gravity, in the sense that the water will reach the end of the top PVC piping and flow down to the next one. The PVC pipes all have an additional length of tubing connecting it to the PVC pipe below it. When the nutrient solution reaches the bottom (last) PVC pipe it will then lead back into the reservoir itself, therefore giving you a recycling system, which can be very cost efficient. Depending on the size of your grow, you should aim to change your nutrient solution every one - two weeks, ensuring the solution is not getting diluted or contaminated.