2. CONTENTS
WHAT IS HYDROPONIC
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
HOW COMPLICACY IS HYDROPONIC?
IS PH IMPORTANT IN HYDROPONICS?
ADVANTAGES OF HYDROPONIC
DISADVANTAGES HYDROPONIC
BASIC HYDROPONIC SYSTEMS AND HOW THEY
WORK
CONCLUSION
REFERENCE
3. WHAT IS HYDROPONIC?
Hydroponics comes from the Latin language and it means working
water.
"hydro" means "water"
"ponos" means "labor".
Hydroponics is steadily growing in popularity throughout the world.
There are many reasons for this. First of all it is an eco-friendly
method of cultivation since it minimizes use of water and potentially
harmful chemicals.
Hydroponics is a subset of hydroculture and is a method of growing
plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil.
Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient
solution only
4. HOW DOES IT WORK?
Plants are suspended in a ph neutral medium
Nutrient rich water is pumped through allowing the
plants to absorb what they need
An air pump oxygenates the water for the roots
The water is recycled, until the nutrients are nearly all
absorbed by the plants and then disposed of in a
responsible way
5. WHERE CAN WE USE IT?
Households – to enhance self sufficiency
Schools – to empower our next generation
Commercial production – more sustainable,
Communities – eliminate food oases and create
resiliency
Urban Agriculture – fits perfectly in areas with
population density
6. WHO SAID WE NEED SOIL TO CULTIVATE??
Hydroponics technology is a green technology that makes
use of the natural plant growth phenomena in obtaining
better results from plants. Industries such as the airlines
and fast-food chains use hydroponically grown vegetables.
The cut flower industry, nurseries and the pharmaceutical
industry are other sectors where this technology is being
practiced successfully.
The project was launched in the country in October last
year and an awareness programme was mooted in
Bangalore. Till now, 126 students from Jabalpur,
Jamshedpur, Gujarat, Nagaland and Delhi have been
trained in the practice.
7. HISTORY
The process of hydroponic growing in our ocean goes
back to about the time earth was created.
Many different civilizations have utilized hydroponic
growing techniques throughout history.
Egyptian hieroglyphic records date back several hundred
years B.C. describe the growing of plants in water.
Floating gardens of the Aztecs of Mexico
Hanging gardens of Babylon, somewhere in (Iraq)
8. FIG: The hanging gardens of Babylon
FIG: The floating gardens of the
Aztecs of Mexico
10. IS PH IMPORTANT IN HYDROPONICS?
The control of pH is extremely important, not only in
hydroponics but in soil as well. Plants lose the ability
to absorb different nutrients when the pH varies. (This
topic is answered in much greater detail in the "mini-
class" on pH in Hydroponics).
The ability to quickly and easily test and control pH in
hydroponics is a major advantage over dirt gardening,
where testing and adjusting the pH is much more
complicated and time consuming.
14. ADVANTAGES OF HYDROPONIC
Superior taste, quality, appearance, uniformity, and extended shelf life of
hydroponic vegetables.
No sterilization of growing media required and plant nutrition is easily and
completely controlled within the nutrient reservoir.
No cultivation, no soil borne diseases or insects. Allows uniform water
availability to plants.
Closer plant spacing is possible and movable plant channels allow greater
production from equal areas
Less water required and less fertilizer needed, and root zone heating and
cooling is made possible.
15. DISADVANTAGES OF HYDROPONICS
Limited production in comparison to field conditions
Initial setup cost is high.
As the necessary equipments are expensive Technical
skill is required to maintain the equipments.
Hydroponic gardens are influenced by power cut.
If a disease appears all plants in the container will be
affected.
Water borne diseases can quickly spread right through
the hydroponic gardens If the hydroponic system fails
it can leads to rapid plant death and losses
16. BASIC HYDROPONIC SYSTEMS
AND HOW THEY WORK
There are 4 basic types of hydroponic systems;
Wick,
Water Culture,
Ebb and Flow (Flood & Drain),
Aeroponic.
There are hundreds of variations on these basic
types of systems, but all hydroponic methods are a
variation (or combination) of these four.
17. SYSTEMS:
WICK SYSTEM
The Wick system is by far the simplest type of hydroponic system. This
is a passive system, which means there are no moving parts. The
nutrient solution is drawn into the growing medium from the reservoir
with a wick.
18. WATER CULTURE
The water culture system is the simplest of all active
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 oxygen to
the roots of the plants.
19. EBB & FLOW - (FLOOD AND DRAIN)
The Ebb and Flow system works by temporarily flooding the grow tray with nutrient
solution and then draining the solution back into the reservoir. 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
reservoir. The Timer is set to come on several times a day, depending on the size and
type of plants, temperature and humidity and the type of growing medium used.
20. AEROPONIC
The aeroponic system is probably the most high-tech type of
hydroponic gardening. The roots hang in the air and are misted with
nutrient solution. The misting are usually done every few minutes.
Because the roots are exposed to the air, the roots will dry out rapidly if
the misting cycles are interrupted
24. CONCLUSION
Specially, in a country like INDIA, adopting soil-less culture to help improve the yield and quality of the produce so
that we can ensure food security of our country.
This has been a potential issue for years which is why scientists have developed another way to grow food an plants
WITHOUT UTILIZING LAND which is a fast depleting resource
If you have the knowledge and the right equipment you can do it yourself out of your HOME. This means that
individuals can stop slogging down to the grocery every day.
Hydroponics is popular not just as way to produce larger, healthier, and more flavourful foods on a large scale, but also
as HOUSEHOLD HOBBY.
Simple hydroponic systems can help people grow herbs, flowers, or vegetables in their basement, in a large closet or
even on their KITCHEN COUNTER.
Many people LOOK TOWARDS hydroponics as the way the most food may be grown in the future.
Hydroponics may be the answer to sustaining the world's food supply because of its ability to produce larger yields
using a smaller amount of space.
NASA has experimented with hydroponics as a means of growing vegetables in space. Working on it still.
The great thing about hydroponics growing that ANYONE can do it
25. REFERENCES
1. Soil india gardening magazine -04 • august 2013 www.soillessgardening-india.com.
2. Your terrace could be your farm too-ureka- planet earth | 33 | may 09..
3. Soil india gardening magazine -03 • june 2013 • www.soillessgardening-india.com.
4. The system uses alternatives to soil such as sawdust-bangalore -date:15/11/2008
url: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/15/stories/2008111554330400.htm.
5. Article agri industry survey tamil 2009.
6. Dr. palakshappa hydroponic datas till date.
7. International conference next generation of indian agriculture- date: 4th october,
2009-agri intex.
8. Hydroponic in the classroom- 2011 national agriculture in the classroom
conference-cindy davidson youth environmental alliance.
9. Stefanie gilliam b.s., louisiana state university, 2011 december 2013- the
department of biological and agricultural engineering by stefanie gilliam b.s.,
louisiana state university, 2011 december
10. Ijret: international journal of research in .engineering and technology- mamta d.
sardare, shraddha v. admane assistant professor, mit academy of engineering alandi
pune, maharashtra, india.