Hydroponics

Soilless culture

Plants are Natures

greatest factories.
Water is the basis of
life
Every living plant
depends on it to
thrive.
In nature, water acts
to recharge the soil
with nutrients

What is Hydroponics
Hydroponics comes from the Latin
language and it means working
water.
"hydro" means "water"
"ponos" means "labor".
Soil less growing!

Soil and Plant

Interrelations
Soil provides four needs to the
plant:
1. A supply of water
2. Supply of essential nutrients
3. Supply of Oxygen,
4. Support for the plant root
system.
. Sunlight

Optimum soil
composition:
25% water, 25%
air, 45% mineral
matter and 5%
organic matter.

Source:
www.indianhydroponics.com/soilvshydro.html

Soil versus Hydroponics

Soil Less Growing?

What is used as a growing media if soil
isnt present?
- Gravel -Rockwool
- Sand
-Styrofoam
- Vermiculite
-coconut fiber
- Anything Inert!

History
The process of hydroponics
growing in our oceans goes back to
about the time the earth was
created.
Hydroponic growing preceded soil
growing.

History

One of the 7 wonders of the

ancient world.
Hanging gardens of Babylon, in
(Iraq)

http://agrosysindia.com/services/hydroponics/

Advantages
Faster Growth:
Hydroponics works by automatically
getting the complete nutrient mixture
and water to the roots without drowning
the plant.
Plants get everything they need all the
time, so they do not waste growing a lot
of roots or searching for nutrients.

Advantages
No Weeds or Pests:
Gardening without soil eliminates the
weeds - no weed sprays.
Most pests live and breed in the soil no pesticides or other toxic chemicals.

Advantages
Great Plant Quality and Taste:
Since the plants get everything it needs,
it will reward you with great taste,
strong and fast growth, and overall plant
quality.

Advantages
Grow in Any Condition Systems may be constructed and used
in any location from space to under
water exploration.
Smaller Growing Area
Water recycling
Controlled nutrition
Stable and high yields

Basic Hydroponic Systems

6 basic types of hydroponic

systems;
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Capillary System/ wick system

Water Culture
Ebb and Flow (Flood & Drain),
Drip (recovery or non-recovery),
N.F.T. (Nutrient Film Technique)

6. Aeroponic.

Capillary System/ wick

system:
The nutrient solution is drawn into the growing medium
from the reservoir with a wick.
These systems may be important when designing a
system to operate in a space station where gravity is
nonexistent.

Growing media: Perlite,

Vermiculite, Pro-Mix and
Coconut Fiber are among the
most popular.

WATER CULTURE
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.

Ebb & Flow (Flood & Drain)

Systems
It works by temporarily flooding the grow tray with
nutrient solution and then draining the solution
back into the reservoir.
When the nutrient drains back to the reservoir,
fresh air is drawn through the root system
refreshing oxygen to the roots.
The entire grow tray can be filled with Grow Rocks,
gravel or granular Rockwool.

DRIP SYSTEMS:

The most widely used hydroponic system.

Plants are fed individually by a connection of

feeding tubes(drip lines), which is connected to a
pump.

The timer turns the pump on and nutrient solution is

Recovery/
dripped onto the base of each plant.
NonRecovery
Systems
are
available

Nutrient Film Technique

(NFT)
N.F.T. systems have a constant flow of nutrient
solution
The plants are housed in net cups suspended in the
tube, set on a slope to assist in the flow.
No growing medium used other than air.
Widely used for production of short harvest
vegetable crop

Nutrient Film Technique

(NFT)

Hydroponic Nutrient
Solutions

Source:
www.smart-fertilizer.com.

AEROPONICS
Nutrients and water are
sprayed onto the roots in an
atomized or mist form by a
high-pressure pump.

This creates quickly moving

water, delivering more
oxygen.

More oxygen helping to

maximize plant growth.
More oxygen discourages

AEROPONICS

Advantages
Germinating, rooting of cuttings, and growing times
are cut in half
Grow your plants to full term or transplant in soil
Plants are stronger, larger, and of the highest quality
and flavor
Re-circulates the nutrients until the plants use it up
Uses 70 to 90 percent LESS water than conventional
gardening

Disadvantages
It is vulnerable to a power outage. Exposed roots
will rapidly dry out and kill the plant.
Mister spray heads may also have a tendency to
clog and not produce mist when needed.
Once a plant grows it will require some complex
support mechanism because there is no growth
medium to counterbalance and anchor the plant.

Aquaponics
The nutrient-rich water that results from
raising fish provides a source of natural
fertilizer for the growing plants.
As the plants consume the nutrients, they
help to purify the water that the fish live
in.
A natural microbial process keeps both
the fish and plants healthy.

Aquaponics

Source: http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-vertical-aquaponic-veggie-fish-

Reference:
Plan Tissue Culture Engineering By S. Dutta
Gupta, Yasuomi Ibaraki
http://sdhydroponics.com/resources/articles/ga
rdening/how-to-grow-hydroponically-%E2%80%93-o
verview-of-grow-systems
http://www.hannainst.com/hydroponics/hydroponi
c-drip-system.html