Hydroponics

Hydroponics

The practice of growing plants without soil

Benefits of hydroponics

Preserves habitat

Protects species

Keeps biodiversity

No chemicals used

Water is re-used

Hydroponics limitations

High initial cost

Requires highly-trained labor

Short season crops and crops that do not produce large fruits ONLY

Deep water culture

Drip method

Aeroponics

Nutrient film technique

Ebb and flow

Aquaponics

Wick system

Properties of substrates

Porosity

Capillarity

Oxygenation

Chemically inert

Biologically inter

Porosity

Influences nutrient availability for the plant to perform metabolic processes (respiration, transpiration, photosynthesis)

Capillarity

Through this, the substrate absorbs nutrients and distributes them to the plant’s roots

Oxygenation

The structure of the substrate must allow the intake of oxygen by the roots while these are in contact with the nutrient solution

Chemically inert

Substrate musth consist of materials unable to react with the chamicals in the nutrient solution to avoid any alteration in its composition

Biologically inert

Because the nutrient solution circulates among the high root density of several plants, diseases can spread rapidly from one to another if corrective actions are not applied immediately. Therefore, the substrate must not favor any biological activity since micro-organisms may have a detrimental effect on crops, like diseases, malnutrition, and other consequences

Sand

Perlite

Vermiculite

Rockwood

Coconut fiber

Peat moss

Pumice

Materials used as substrates in hydroponics