General Hydroponics | A Guide to General Hydroponics

General hydroponics is not a new field. In fact, this technique dates back several hundred years and some examples of general hydroponics include floating gardens of Aztecs and China, hanging gardens of Babylon and records of Egyptian hieroglyphic. But in recent times, some remarkable progress has been made in this field of agriculture.

There have been numerous experiments being done by horticulturists and scientists using various methods of general hydroponics. There is increasing need of this technique in arable parts of the world. Hydroponics was used during Second World War to supply fresh produce that was grown using this method to the troops stationed on the non arable islands of Pacific.

Commercial Success

General Hydroponics has become increasingly popular with commercial growers and they are extensively using it to make fresh produce. Traditional farmers are also attracted to the benefits of using this method.

Israel has developed advanced hydroponic technology because of its climate. This technology is marketed to Nicaragua and they use it to produce pepper for selling abroad including the US. The largest hydroponic facility is in Arizona that sold 125 million pounds of tomatoes in 2005.

Advantages of General Hydroponics

This technique of growing fresh produce gives higher yield as compared to soil based traditional agriculture system. It is a boon for the parts of the world where soil based crops cannot be grown. This method also eliminates the need of pesticide and insecticide hence making soil, water, air and food much cleaner and healthier.

Nutrients Needs

General hydroponic nutrients vary as per the type of plants and they vary quite significantly. This need of nutrients also changes during the growth cycle of each plant. You can use various combinations of growing and booming products for each stage of plant and then you can precisely know the nutrients required for each plant for each cycle of its growth.

Nutrients used in hydroponics are dissolved in water and are usually in ionic and inorganic form. Calcium Nitrate, potassium nitrate, magnesium sulfate and potassium phosphate are the most commonly used macronutrients.

Advancements

Productivity of general hydroponics is high because there is no pest problem and there is constant supply of nutrients to the plants. Growth of the plant is limited due to limited light and low carbon dioxide levels in the air. To increase the yield, CO2 enrichment may be done which involves injecting carbon dioxide in the sealed greenhouses environment Yield may also be increased by adding light to make the day longer.