An Overview of Hydroponic Systems for Plant Growth Process

"Plants grown hydroponically have a threefold increase in vitamins and minerals compared to plants grown in soil. " Hydroponics garden can be setup anywhere in the universe, be it in a spare room or balcony or terrace or corner of the living room or arid areas; Israel and Arizona have adopted this technique since a long time. Hydroponics is feasible for remote and unreachable places that have no agricultural space, such as Bermuda or places that have short seasons for planting like Alaska and Russia or in uncultivated or barren land or deserts or in space as done by NASA.

Harvesting crops is a simpler process. Taste and smell of the fruits and vegetables grown hydroponically will be much richer and fuller compared to the fruits and vegetables grown in soil. Almost all vegetables, fruits, house plants, herbs and flowering plants can be grown hydroponically. Small and compact crops like cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, lettuce are easy to grow, takes little space and have shorter produce cycle. Herbs are fantastic to grow hydroponically because it matures very quickly and need little care.

Disadvantages

The biggest factor is that a quality hydroponics system of any size will cost more than its soil counterpart running to several hundred dollars for a small system that grows a half dozen or so plants. A large-scale hydroponics system can take a lot of time to setup because an artificial environment is created with everything that the plant needs i. e. water, nutrients, lighting, growing medium, temperature, humidity and these have to be continuously monitored. Managing and maintaining hydroponics system isn't easy and is a technical and complicated system. Nutrient solution has to be changed in every two to three weeks from the reservoir and has to be topped up in every four or five days. This means it can't be left unattended for long. The entire system has to be flushed, cleaned and sterilized after a single growing cycle is complete, in order to remove the risk of any diseases building up on the equipment. pH and nutrient levels have to be monitored and balanced on a daily basis and whenever signs of wilting are noticed. Temperature has to be highly controlled and electricity power can be a problem for large commercial projects.

The greatest risk with a hydroponics system is, a pump failure can kill off plants within hours depending on the size of system. They can die quickly because the growing medium can't store water like soil can, so the plants are dependent on a fresh supply of water.

Pests and diseases is a concern in hydroponics as well, though they will be fewer and less frequent than conventional farming. To prevent damages incurred from this problem, certified organic sprays are available which are safer to use on food crops. Regular checking for signs of pests and disease should be done. 'Prevention is better than cure. ' It is easier to cure the problem in the early stage because then the affected plant can be removed before the entire crop is harmed. All these problems add up the cost of hydroponic systems. Aphids, mites, thrips and white flies are common pests found in hydroponic systems. Other problems that might occur are rust-like spots on the leaves of crops which might be caused due to sapsuckers, fungus, nutrition deficiency, phytotoxicity or necrosis.

To solve these problems, fungicide such as Fongarid may be added to the nutrient solution. Preventive solutions such as friendly bacteria should be added to combat root disease. Anything that has fruits and flowers has to be pollinated. But in a hydroponic system, pollination can't be done naturally because of the open atmosphere required for bees and other insects carrying out pollination. Pollination has to be done manually in these cases. Research is active in this field and robotic bees have been developed, that carry out pollination in hydroponic systems.

Maize, wheat and rice cannot be grown hydroponically. Root vegetables are harder to grow because the root grows into the liquid, which can make it rot and a very thick bed of the growing medium is required and vegetables like corn, melons, pumpkins, zucchini take up a lot of space so they aren't practical to grow because of the cost and space requirements. The cost of growing these larger plants usually outweighs the benefits of harvesting them fresh. Succulent plants will not grow in hydroponic gardens because they thrive in dry conditions.

Techniques

Hydroponic plants can be grown by 5 methods. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages and their costing slightly varies and different systems need different levels of attention. Any method can be used depending on one's convenience. These techniques are:

1. Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) - NFT is the most popular commercial hydroponic system. It does not require any growing medium other than air. The main disadvantage of this is that it is extremely susceptible to pump failures or power outages as should the nutrient flow be interrupted the roots will dry out very quickly. Plants are very aware of interruptions in the flow of nutrients. It requires frequent monitoring and can be used with most vegetable plants.
2. Drip systems - Extremely common in commercial operations, but less common in recreational gardens and are very simple to run. There are recovery and non-recovery kind of systems in it.
3. Ebb and Flow (Flood and Drain) - This is a less-commonly seen system, depends on pump submerged in the reservoir and set to run with a timer because the roots of plants are not permanently suspended in nutrient solution. Power outages might be an issue with this system and the growing medium can end up drying out which will adversely affect plants.
4. Wick systems - This system is most basic, easiest and cheapest but can only be used at homes by beginners.
5. Deep water culture (DWC) - In a DWC system, a plant's roots are suspended in a well-oxygenated solution composed of water and nutrients. This technique is the simplest but impractical for most vegetables except lettuce because lettuces love water and grow quickly.

Growing Components

Water

Water quality is absolutely vital in a garden where plants are grown solely in water. For hydroponics, the first optimal step is that the water of the surrounding region should be tested in lab for analysis to get the idea about the elements present in water and to check whether it is safe for soilless farming or not. If risky, water filtration that has filters for sediment, activate charcoal and 0. 5 microns or absolute one micron is required. Otherwise it is best to use RO water, even rain water is highly preferable for hydroponic system. Hydroponic plants need water that is as pure as possible. Water has to be in adequate quantity, too much and the plant will be unable to access oxygen; too little and the plant will lose the ability to transport nutrients, which are typically moved into the roots while in solution.

Growing medium

Growing mediums are inert materials that the plants are placed in; they fulfil the root stabilizing function traditionally provided by soil. They are also called "Substrates. "Growing mediums can be considered as the part of the system that supports the weight of the plants and the vessel that maintains moisture and oxygen that crops need in order to grow.

Lighting

Without light the plants will not be able to process the nutrients causing it to starve itself. With artificial lighting, the warmth that plants receive from the sun can be replicated, as well as the colors of the spectrum that it needs to proceed to photosynthesis. 14-16 hours of bright lighting for plants is required on average. Light has to be adjusted properly with the right wavelength and color. If too close from the system, heat from the lights can damage plants so an air exchange system has to be put in place. Lighting will give plants the optimal amount of heat and light in order for them to mature much quicker. It is indispensable to know about the right lighting systems otherwise spending whopping amount of money on it is no big deal. Anything that goes wrong with hydroponic system will damage the entire crop. LED lighting systems technology has become very popular and are ideal for all growth and at all stages. It has two big advantages over traditional bulbs like High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lamps. Firstly, it produces minimal heat than traditional bulbs, which means it can be placed closer to plants. Therefore, heat extractors or expensive air conditioning to prevent heat build-up in the room can be avoided. The running costs of LED bulbs is only 25% of the energy consumption of a 400-watt HPS. It consumes a lot less electricity and have a longer lifespan. "Using LED lights will make the plants grow shorter, stocky and strong. "

As it can be placed closer to plants, more number of lighting units will be required. LED lights are effective till two feet tall plants but when plants grow taller and bushier, LED's simply do not have the power to penetrate through the leaf cover like HPS lamps. Lights age so the light quality and spectrum deteriorates which might not be visible to the human eyes initially, but the plants will notice and will struggle to grow so to ensure that the yield remains high, lights should be changed after every 10-11 months to keep the light levels up especially when they are used for more than 12 hours a day. "1% decrease in light reduces yield by 1%. " A small fluctuation in electricity can damage the lights. These systems get too expensive, so it is best to compare initial costs, running costs and replacement costs of different varieties of LEDs as there are many different manufacturers and the difference between lamps of similar wattages are minuscule.

Nutrients

Nutrients in the soil are the key to growth. In traditional farming method, seeds draw the nutrients and minerals they need to grow from the soil which is surrounding it. The seed reaches towards the surface and at the same time it also grows downward to establish a root system. The surrounding soil helps the plants roots stay securely in the ground. So basically, plants do not need soil to grow but the minerals in the soil that can provide stability to the root system which makes the seed's growth possible. In hydroponics, the minerals in soil are replaced with a nutrient rich liquid solution. Catering to the specific needs of crops often result in larger, healthier and higher in nutritional content compared to traditionally grown crops. Choosing the right nutrient solution is vital to plants. Different feeds are used at different times for different plants, depending on whether the plants are producing leaves or flowering or developing fruits. Feeds are available at every price and for the environmentally conscious people organic feeds can be bought. It is not easy to get the nutrient right because not all nutrients are suitable for all types of growing medium as growing medium determines the type of nutrient to use. There are many kinds of nutrients such as hydroponic nutrients, organic nutrients, coco nutrients.

Hydroponic nutrients are mineral based and plants absorb directly from the roots. They are great for Perlite, Vermiculite, clay pebbles and Rock Wool. Organic nutrients are made from organic components and people have different opinions as to whether they are better or same like others. Coco nutrients are designed for coco coir growing medium. Different plants need different nutrients so there is a high probability that one has to test different nutrients to see which one helps in maximizing yield.

Nutrient solution should be of the right strength because if it is too strong then it can damage plants and if too weak then plants will not get enough food to survive and their growth will be stunted or they will die. Food will get the flavour according to the nutrients provided. Nutrient solution should also be properly oxygenated. An air pump with an air stone connected by flexible tubing can help increase circulation and keep nutrient solution oxygenated. "A nutrient solution for hydroponic systems is an aqueous solution containing mainly inorganics ions from soluble salts of essential elements for higher plants. An important feature of the nutrient solutions is that they must contain the ions in solution and in chemical forms that can be absorbed by plants. "

Hydroponic solutions are costly since they may range from $ 0. 30 per gallon and more. To save the costs, it becomes imperative for large commercial operation owners to learn to mix up a batch of homemade nutrient solution themselves. A great hydroponic solution should have the following minerals in correct ratios: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulphur, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, boron, chlorine and nickel. Other elements such as sodium, silicon, vanadium, selenium, cobalt, aluminium and iodine are considered beneficial because some of them can stimulate the growth, or can compensate the toxic effects of other elements, or may replace essential nutrients in a less specific role.

Hydroponics for home

Hydroponics is a way of cultivation and can be used as a way of personal gardening as well. Hydroponics is becoming increasingly popular and new personal and automated methods have come into being which have made soilless crop possible. The automated hydroponic gardening systems can be placed anywhere in the home and grow multiple healthy herbs and plants with slightest maintenance. It can be done even in little space and the process is quick, thus giving lots of high-quality fruits and vegetables for daily use. This will also give food security to mothers. Plants grown in traditional farming are comprised of a lot of insecticides and pesticides, but fruits and vegetables grown using hydroponics will be free from all of this. "Pesticides have environmental stability, ability to bio accumulate and toxicity, which may place the human body at greater risk of disease and poisoning. "

Though the cost of setting up hydroponics at home will be high as controlling the environment and getting nutrients will turn out to be expensive but one will be satisfied and content about the food that is consumed. Also, it purifies the air by trapping carbon dioxide and converting it into oxygen, making the lifestyle healthier. A single tree can remove 7000 soot and dust particles from a litre of air. Indispensable use of internet has made almost every youth techno-savvy and with the use of internet, education about hydroponics can be received. This can be treated this as a challenge as well as an adventure.

Hydroponics market size globally

Hydroponics farming has relatively gained popularity in United Kingdom and United States of America. This industry is seeing continuous explosive growth and acceptance into mainstream agriculture from the past 2 years and is expected to grow further. The Global Hydroponics Market is poised to grow at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of around 6. 4% over the next decade to reach approximately $13. 73 billion by 2025.

Europe is traditionally the largest market that is implementing advanced techniques in hydroponics. The matured European market demand is led by countries, such as the Netherlands, Spain, and France. The Netherlands is the largest producer of hydroponic crops and is expected to maintain the lead for the next 10 years. All the major vegetable and fruit crops are grown using hydroponics in European countries. Asia-Pacific forms the second largest market for hydroponics, which is expected to grow at a steady pace during the forecast period of 2018-2023.