Index
- What is hydroponics
- Hydroponic farming
- Advantages
- Hydroponic plan
What is hydroponics: meaning and etymology
What is hydroponics? What about hydroponic agriculture? To simplify, we can say that hydroponics is the cultivation of plants without soil, that is, without soil and thanks to water, in which suitable nutrients are dissolved to make plants grow quickly and healthily. In short, it is the cultivation of plants in water. The etymology of the word hydroponics must be found in the ancient Greek language: "hidro" or water and "ponos", which means work; in essence, the word hydroponics identifies precisely the work and the powerful action of the water used - in this case - for the development and cultivation of plants, both decorative and fruit and vegetable.
Although hydroponic cultivation has existed since the time of the Babylonian Assyrians, in any place where there is a river or a body of water, this type of cultivation was rediscovered in 1930 by Dr. Gericke, at the University of Berkeley in California. , and was reworked in a modern key in the following decades, even if it found a real application - thus spreading all over the world as an innovative and extremely modern technique - only for a few decades. We find one of the oldest examples of hydroponic cultivation and agriculture in the hanging gardens of ancient Babylon, but also among the peoples who lived in the mountainous areas of the Andes, on Lake Titicaca between Peru and Bolivia, and in Mianmar, which they cultivated hydroponic gardens on the surface of the water, using pallets of straw, flowers and different substrates depending on the materials available.
Hydroponic agriculture: what is it and how does it work?
Let's see, then, how exactly hydroponics works and - more generally - how hydroponic farming crops are structured and created. Hydroponics - i.e. cultivation without soil or without soil - involves the adoption of alternative cultivation techniques which - as anticipated above - do not involve the use of the soil, but with the use of a substrate and with the action of water and nutrients dissolved in it. There are, in reality, two major types of hydroponic cultivation: the one that uses the substrate, or mixtures of perlite, sand, expanded clay, etc., which is moistened and irrigated with water and nutrients, and the hydroponic cultivation without substrate, where the plant roots are immersed in the flow of the nutrient solution (consisting of water and dissolved substances). Although plants such as rice, water lilies or carnivorous plants can adapt well in poorly oxygenated or even stagnant environments, most plants show difficulty in adapting to environments where there is a lack of oxygen.
A plant that does not receive the right amount of oxygen in the root zone dies of asphyxiation, even if it receives the right amount of water and nutrients. Not surprisingly, one of the most frequent causes of death of aquatic plants is the excessive amount of water sprayed during irrigation sessions. For this, it is essential to make sure that the plants grown in hydroponics also receive the right amount of oxygen and therefore of air. In this regard, it must be remembered that water - within cultivation and therefore hydroponic agriculture - must be "living": it is necessary to be aware that, whatever the environment in which they live, both the soil and the air or water, plants absorb their food in the form of ions dissolved in oxygen. For this reason, aeroponics is also frequently used, which - through an air pump - guarantees the plants proper oxygenation. When food and oxygen are absorbed by cultivated plants, they must then be renewed by replacing the nutrient solution.
With this soilless cultivation technique, which stimulates plant growth, the farmer must control the amount of water, mineral salts and, most important of all, the oxygen delivered. In hydroponic cultivation, as we have seen, water replaces soil. When the roots are suspended in moving water, they quickly absorb both nutrients and oxygen. If the amount of oxygen is insufficient for the plant's need, its growth will be slow. If, on the other hand, the plant is properly oxygenated, the plant will grow faster and healthier. The purpose of those involved in hydroponic agriculture is to balance the combination of water, nutrients and oxygen, according to the needs of the plants in order to maximize production and quality.
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To obtain excellent results with hydroponic cultivation, it is essential to monitor some essential parameters: temperature, humidity, CO2 level, hours of light and intensity of illumination, ventilation, plant health and absence of diseases (although in hydroponic crops the spread of diseases related to parasites is significantly lower than what generally occurs with traditional cultivation).
Hydroponic agriculture: the advantages
The great advantage offered by hydroponic agriculture is undoubtedly the ability to cultivate anywhere, even where there is no land or where there is no ideal climate to start certain traditional crops. With this system it is possible to start an indoor or outdoor cultivation, horizontally - as in classic crops - but also vertically, a method that allows you to save space. In addition, hydroponic agriculture allows greater control of the management of water and nutritional resources and a certain saving of water thanks to the recovery and reuse of the water flow, which is collected after use and recycled for a new irrigation cycle. This is also accompanied by a better management of the nutrients supplied to the plants, because there is the measurement and total control of the nutrients, without forgetting - as anticipated above - the advantage in the control of diseases related to pests typical of traditional crops, because - as there is no soil - the risk of dangerous animals and even weeds is also reduced to a minimum. All this also brings benefits to the environment: with hydroponic crops it is possible to significantly reduce both the waste of nutrients and water dispersion, but also the use of herbicides and chemicals, thus proving to be a decidedly type of crop. more sustainable than the traditional one on earth. Although, in fact, hydroponic agriculture involves the use of electricity, equipment, structures and frames, considering the CO2 emissions for the same product obtained, the levels of pollution produced by soilless cultivation are significantly lower. And - also considering the progressive reduction in the number of arable areas in the world - the development of cultivation is desirable, considering the growing needs of the world population.
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Hydroponic plants: what does it mean and what characteristics do they have?
The term hydroponic plants does not identify a family of particular plant species, easily cultivable in water or predisposed to cultivation in water, but the plants produced using hydroponic systems. In general, in fact - except in rare and particular cases - all plants can be grown in a hydroponic system and there are no special and specific plants for hydroponics. When it comes to hydroponic cultivation and - in particular - the products supplied by hydroponic agriculture, the question is always the same: do vegetables and fruit obtained with hydroponics taste the same?
The answer is that it depends on the quality of the nutrients used by the farmer to feed his plants. The final flavor of the cultivated fruits depends on the presence of certain compounds and the relationship between them. Just as an example, just think the sweet taste is dictated by the concentration of sugar levels, the acid tones are given by the combination of calcium, phosphorus and potassium with organic acids, therefore varying the proportions or the type of nutritional solution really makes the difference. Just like the temperature, the humidity, the pH of the solution, but also the light. Therefore, when hydroponic farming produces tasteless fruits - such as Dutch tomatoes all the same and perfectly shaped that we generally find in normal supermarkets - the responsibility lies with those who feed the plants and not with the system itself.
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