HYDROPONIC Introduction The word, Hydroponic, comes from Latin and means working water.

Simply put, it is the art of growing plants without soil. While from Greek words, hydroponic stands for hydro, water and ponos, is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. A terrestrial plant which plant that grows on land rather in water may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as, perlite gra el, mineral fibres or coconut husk.

The plants with hydroponics also perfectly balanced, pH ad!usted nutrient solution is "

deli ered to the roots in a highly soluble form. This allows the plant to uptake its food with ery little effort as different to soil where the roots must search out the nutrients and e#tract them. This is true e en when using rich, organic soil and top of the line nutrients. The energy e#pended by the roots in this process is energy better spent on egetati e growth and fruit and flower production.

$n addition, Hydroponic is a simple, easy way to grow plants. With hydroponics this is an easy task compare in soil whose is far more difficult because can gi e plants ma#imum le el of the e#act nutrient they needs. $t%s really simple, if gi e a plant e#actly what it needs, when it needs it, in the amount that it needs the plant will be as healthy as is genetically possible. . History $n "&'&, (rofessor William )rederick Gericke of the *ni ersity of +alifornia at ,erkeley began publicly promoting that solution culture be used for agricultural crop production. He first termed it a-uaculture but later found that a-uaculture was already applied to culture of a-uatic organisms. Gericke created a sensation by growing tomato ines twenty.fi e feet high in his back yard in mineral nutrient solutions rather than soil. ,y analogy with the earliest Greek term for agriculture, geoponics, the science of culti ating the earth, Gericke introduced the term hydroponics in "&/0 1although he asserts that the term was suggested by 2r. W. A. Setchell, of the *ni ersity of +alifornia3 for the culture of plants in water 1from the Greek hydros, 4water4, and ponos, 4labor43.

5eports of Gericke6s work and his claims that hydroponics would re olutioni7e plant agriculture prompted a huge number of re-uests for further information. Gericke refused to re eal his secrets claiming he had done the work at home on his own time. This refusal e entually resulted in his lea ing the *ni ersity of +alifornia. $n "&89, he wrote the book, +omplete Guide to Soilless Gardening. 5esearchers disco ered in the "&th century that plants absorb essential mineral nutrients as '

mineral ions in water. $n natural conditions, soil acts as a mineral nutrient tank but the soil itself is not essential to plant growth. When the mineral nutrients in the soil dissol e in water, plant roots are able to absorb them. When the re-uired mineral nutrients are introduced into a plant6s water supply artificially, soil is no longer re-uired for the plant to thri e. Almost any terrestrial plant will grow with hydroponics. Hydroponics is also a standard techni-ue in biology research and teaching.

Hydroponic culture methods are being used successfully to produce plants out of season in greenhouses and to produce plants in areas where either the soil or the climate is not suitable for the crop grown. 2uring World War $$, for e#ample, se eral *.S. Army units successfully produced egetables hydroponically at arious o erseas bases. $n the "&:9s hydroponic farming de eloped on a commercial scale in the arid regions of the *nited States, particularly in Ari7ona. $n other arid regions, such as the (ersian Gulf and the Arab oil.producing states, hydroponic farming of tomatoes and cucumbers is under way; these countries are also researching an additional group of crops that may be grown by this method as they ha e limited arable land.

Requirements for hydroponics

Hydroponics systems cannot be applicable in poor growing conditions such as improper temperature, inade-uate light, or pests6 problems. )ollowing are the re-uirements for hydroponics plants to sur i e<

Water . you ha e to pro ide ade-uate amount of water. $f the aggregate amount of water is not enough to keep the roots sufficiently moist, then the plants may dry and die. =ake sure that water contains ade-uate neither e#cess nor less amount of alkalinity, sodium or salt contents for sur i al of hydroponics.

>#ygen . plants will re-uire good amount of o#ygen for respiration to carry out their work of nutrients and water uptake. The best way to supply o#ygen is to bubble the air through the water solution.

Temperature . hydroponics grow well within limited temperature range. ?ither too high or too low temperature results in reduced productions and abnormal de elopments of the plants.

Light . plants like egetables and fruits grown through hydroponics need at least @ to "9 hours of direct sunlight each day to produce well. Howe er as an alternati e to sunlight, can apply bright light or high.pressure sodium lamps to produce the same effects.

=ineral nutrients . green plants must absorb certain minerals through their roots to sur i e. The essential elements needed in large -uantities include potassium, calcium, nitrogen, magnesium, phosphorus and sulfur.

Hydroponics may also be called 4controlled en ironmental agriculture4 as it helps to control the en ironmental systems like water, light, +>', o#ygen, pH and nutrient.

Index of image of hydroponic 8

Basic Hydroponic Systems and Ho !hey "or#

There are : basic types of hydroponic systems; Wick, Water +ulture$ ?bb and )low 1)lood A 2rain3, 2rip 1reco ery or non.reco ery3, B.).T% 1Butrient )ilm Techni-ue3 and Aeroponic. There are hundreds of ariations on these basic types of systems, but all hydroponic methods are a ariation or combination of these si#. ". W$+C SDST?=

The Wick system is by far the simplest type of hydroponic system. This is a passi e system, which means there are no mo ing parts. The nutrient solution is drawn into the growing medium from the reser oir with a wick. )ree plans for a simple wick system are a ailable. This system can use a ariety of growing medium. (erlite, Eermiculite, (ro.=i# and +oconut )ibre are among the most popular. The biggest drawback of this system is that plants that are large or use large amounts of water may use up the nutrient solution faster than the wicks can supply it. F

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The water culture system is the simplest of all acti e hydroponic systems. The platform that holds the plants is usually made of Styrofoam and floats directly on the nutrient solution. An air pump supplies air to the air stone that bubbles the nutrient solution and supplies o#ygen to the roots of the plants.

Water culture is the system of choice for growing leaf lettuce, which are fast growing water lo ing plants, making them an ideal choice for this type of hydroponic system. Eery few plants other than lettuce will do well in this type of system.

This type of hydroponic system is great for the classroom and is popular with teachers. A ery ine#pensi e system can be made out of an old a-uarium or other water tight container. There ha e free plans and instructions for a simply water culture system.

The biggest drawback of this kind of system is that it doesn6t work well with large plants or with long.term plants.

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The ?bb and )low system works by temporarily flooding the grow tray with nutrient solution and then draining the solution back into the reser oir. This action is normally done with a submerged pump that is connected to a timer.

When the timer turns the pump on nutrient solution is pumped into the grow tray. When the timer shuts the pump off the nutrient solution flows back into the reser oir. The Timer is set to come on se eral times a day, depending on the si7e and type of plants, temperature and humidity and the type of growing medium used.

The ?bb A )low is a ersatile system that can be used with a ariety of growing mediums. The entire grow tray can be filled with Grow 5ocks, gra el or granular 5ockwool. =any people like to use indi idual pots filled with growing medium, this makes it easier to mo e plants around or e en mo e them in or out of the system. The main disad antage of this type of system is that with some types of growing medium 1Gra el, Growrocks, (erlite3, there is a ulnerability to power outages as well as pump and timer failures. The roots can dry out -uickly when the watering cycles are interrupted. This problem can be relie ed somewhat by using growing media that retains more water 15ockwool, Eermiculite, coconut fibre or a good soilless mi# like (ro.mi# or )affard6s3. 0

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2rip systems are probably the most widely used type of hydroponic system in the world. >peration is simple, a timer controls a submersed pump. The timer turns the pump on and nutrient solution is dripped onto the base of each plant by a small drip line. $n a 5eco ery 2rip System the e#cess nutrient solution that runs off is collected back in the reser oir for re.use. The Bon.5eco ery System does not collect the run off.

A reco ery system uses nutrient solution a bit more efficiently, as e#cess solution is reused, this also allows for the use of a more ine#pensi e timer because a reco ery system doesn6t re-uire precise control of the watering cycles. The non.reco ery system needs to ha e a more precise timer so that watering cycles can be ad!usted to insure that the plants get enough nutrient solution and the runoff is kept to a minimum.

The non.reco ery system re-uires less maintenance due to the fact that the e#cess nutrient solution isn6t recycled back into the tank, so the nutrient strength and pH of the tank will not ary. This means that you can fill the tank with pH ad!usted nutrient solution and then forget it until you @

need to mi# more. A reco ery system can ha e large shifts in the pH and nutrient strength le els that re-uire periodic checking and ad!usting. F. B.).T. 1Butrient )ilm Techni-ue3

This is the kind of hydroponic system most people think of when they think about hydroponics. B.).T. systems ha e a constant flow of nutrient solution so no timer re-uired for the submersible pump. The nutrient solution is pumped into the growing tray 1usually a tube3 and flows o er the roots of the plants, and then drains back into the reser oir.

There is usually no growing medium used other than air, which sa es the e#pense of replacing the growing medium after e ery crop. Bormally the plant is supported in a small plastic basket with the roots hanging into the nutrient solution.

B.).T. systems are ery ulnerable to power outages and pump failures. The roots dry out ery rapidly when the flow of nutrient solution is interrupted

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The aeroponic system is probably the most high.tech type of hydroponic gardening. Like the B.).T. system abo e the growing medium is primarily air. The roots hang in the air and are misted with nutrient solution. The misting is usually done e ery few minutes. ,ecause the roots are e#posed to the air like the B.).T. system, the roots will dry out rapidly if the misting cycles are interrupted.

A timer controls the nutrient pump much like other types of hydroponic systems, e#cept the aeroponic system needs a short cycle timer that runs the pump for a few seconds e ery couple of minutes.

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)ertili7er for organic hydroponics

Difference &et een hydroponic$ organic and 'regu(ar' ferti(i)ers

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,oth hydroponic fertili7ers and those intended for use in soil contain the three ma!or nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The ma!or difference in hydroponic fertili7ers is that they contain the proper amounts of all the essential micro.nutrients which fertili7ers intended for use with soil do not. The plants are e#pected to find these elements in the soil, assuming that the trace elements are in fact present. (roblems can arise for the plants if any or all of the micro. nutrients are not present in the soil or are depleted by successi e or e#cessi e plantings. Hydroponic fertili7ers are usually in a more refined form with fewer impurities making them both more stable and soluble for better absorption. >rganic fertili7ers, in most cases, are ery different than either hydroponic or soil fertili7ers both in composition and how they deli er the nutrient to the plants. >rganic fertili7ers rely on the synergistic action of bacteria and microbes to break down nutritional substances for easier uptake by the plants. Hydroponic and soil fertili7ers pro ide nutrients in a ready.to.use form. While once, they were mutually e#clusi e, in recent years a number of outstanding organic fertili7ers ha e hit the market in formulations refined enough for use in hydroponics

*d+antages of Hydroponics

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Today, space is increasingly at the premium. With hydroponics, plants can be grown anywhere where no soil e#ists and light is a ailable. )or e#ample, plants can be grown on a rooftop or ne#t to the window sill. $n Hapan, egetables are grown in the supermarket itself and it supplies crispy fresh egetables to the shoppers. $t sa es money on transport and the benefit of ha ing fresh produce offset the high cost of city land. Therefore, hydroponics farming can be iable irrespecti e of the alue of land. "'

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A soil system is difficult to keep in control due to the comple# chemical and biological nature of the soil. (lants nutrients are fre-uently not a ailable to plants due to poor soil structure or unfa ourable soil pH alue. (lants growing in soil are also fre-uent competitors for the essential in the soil solution. >n the contrary, a hydroponics grower has the freedom to regulate the composition of the nutrient solution and the fre-uency of the feeding of nutrient. This gi es the hydroponics grower a considerable degree of control o er the plant growth.

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Hydroponics has no need for tilling of soil, fumigation, watering, pulling of weeds or yelling at the neighbour6s dog for running through your crops.

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A properly designed hydroponics system uses a lot less water and nutrients than soil culture. This is because the nutrients can be recycled through the system. This ad antage is significant as it can lead to a reduction in the pollution of land and the stream with high le els of run off nutrients.

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The chance of soil.borne disease is largely reduced with hydroponics as it is a soilless "/

culture system, thus the need to fumigate is much lessened. With soil culture, the animal waste, high residues of pesticides, and soil microorganisms applied on to food crops and pose a health ha7ard to consumers.

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$n hydroponics culti ation, seedlings can be easily raised in either foam or rock wool propagation blocks. These blocks can be then transplanted directly into the hydroponics system without a need to prick out the plants as in the case of soil media. Therefore, hydroponics shortens the propagation time needed and also reduces the transplant shock in young seedlings.

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The use of hea y machines in con entional agriculture farming compacts in the soil and results in damage to the soil structure. This could lead to serious soil erosion problems. $t is estimated that in the *nited States, three billion tonnes of topsoil are lost through soil erosion e ery year as a result of human acti ities. This problem could be significantly curtailed if much of the present farmlands are con erted to hydroponics farming.

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$n hydroponics culture, the plant nutrients and water are a ailable in sufficient amounts all year round, thus allowing higher density planting. $t is also possible to grow plants in multi.le els with hydroponics. Together with the absence of pests and diseases which can affect the o erall production, the increase in yields per acre under hydroponics culti ation is striking compared to soil culti ation. "8

Disad+antage of hydroponics

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The initial cost for construction of the hydroponics system is high, so, a hydroponics farmer may be limited in growing crops that either gi es a high return or rapid turn.o er.

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Trained personnel knowledgeable in the principles of plant nutrition and operation of commercial hydroponics are necessary to manage a hydroponics farm, as the failure rate is high in the hands of amateurs.

Conc(usion

Hydroponics is a farming method that doesn6t use soil but water or the other porous substances as a growth medium. $t has a nutrient control that content of essential component as plant needs. ,esides easy to grow the plant, by using hydroponics techni-ue also more easier compare by grow the plant with the soil method because it really simple and can gi e the plant the nutrient as they needed.

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)urthermore, hydroponic ha e many benefits which is the plant can be grown by any places where no soil e#ist, easy to control the plants growth, well maintained of water and nutrient, culture e#tensi e where the plant nutrients and water are a ailable in sufficient amounts all year round, thus allowing higher density planting, also can reduce the pest and disease and many more.

Bi&(iography

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)rom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia , http<GGen.wikipedia.orgGwikiGHydroponics

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1'99@3 KSimply hydroponic and organic%, http<GGwww.simplyhydro.comGwhatis.htm

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http<GGwww.crescent.edu.sgGipwG'999Gsec'G''g".hydroponicsGadLdis.htm

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=r. =ustapha *mar 1'99'3 MSimply hydroponics system for leafy egetables http<GGwww.agnet.orgGlibraryGptG'99'9/0G

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Turner, ,ambi 1'99@3 4How Hydroponics Works.4. http<GGhome.howstuffworks.comGhydroponics.htm ":

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=erli H. Hensen 1"&&03 MhydroponicsN http<GGag.ari7ona.eduGplsGfacultyG=?5L?.html

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