74774253 asg hydroponics siap

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HYDROPONIC

Introduction

The word, Hydroponic, comes from Latin and means working water. Simply put, it is the art

of growing plants without soil. While from Greek words, hydroponic stands for hydro, waterand

ponos, is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrientsolutions, in water, without soil. A

terrestrial plant which plant that grows on land rather in water may be grown with their roots in the

mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as, perlite grael, mineral fibres or

coconut husk.

The plants with hydroponics also perfectly balanced, pH ad!usted nutrient solution is

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrienthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roothttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perlitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_woolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrienthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roothttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perlitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_woolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant


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deliered to the roots in a highly soluble form. This allows the plant to uptake its food with ery

little effort as different to soil where the roots must search out the nutrients and e#tract them. This is

true een when using rich, organic soil and top of the line nutrients. The energy e#pended by the

roots in this process is energy better spent on egetatie growth and fruit and flower production.

$n addition, Hydroponic is a simple, easy way to grow plants. With hydroponics this is an

easy task compare in soil whose is far more difficult because can gie plants ma#imum leel of the

e#act nutrient they needs. $t%s really simple, if gie a plant e#actly what it needs, when it needs it, in

the amount that it needs the plant will be as healthy as is genetically possible.

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History

$n "&'&, (rofessor William )rederick Gericke of the *niersity of +alifornia at erkeley

began publicly promoting that solution culture be used for agricultural crop production. He first

termed it a-uaculture but later found that a-uaculture was already applied to culture of a-uatic

organisms. Gericke created a sensation by growing tomato ines twentyfie feet high in his back

yard in mineral nutrient solutions rather than soil. y analogy with the earliest Greek term for

agriculture, geoponics, the science of cultiating the earth, Gericke introduced the term hydroponics

in "&/0 1although he asserts that the term was suggested by 2r. W. A. Setchell, of the *niersity of

+alifornia3 for the culture of plants in water 1from the Greek hydros, 4water4, and ponos, 4labor43.

5eports of Gericke6s work and his claims that hydroponics would reolutioni7e plant

agriculture prompted a huge number of re-uests for further information. Gericke refused to reeal

his secrets claiming he had done the work at home on his own time. This refusal eentually resulted

in his leaing the *niersity of +alifornia. $n "&89, he wrote the book, +omplete Guide to Soilless

Gardening.

5esearchers discoered in the "&th century that plants absorb essential mineral nutrients as

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mineral ions in water. $n natural conditions, soil acts as a mineral nutrient tank but the soil itself is

not essential to plant growth. When the mineral nutrients in the soil dissole in water, plant roots are

able to absorb them. When the re-uired mineral nutrients are introduced into a plant6s water supply

artificially, soil is no longer re-uired for the plant to thrie. Almost any terrestrial plant will grow

with hydroponics. Hydroponics is also a standard techni-ue in biology research and teaching.

Hydroponic culture methods are being used successfully to produce plants out of season in

greenhouses and to produce plants in areas where either the soil or the climate is not suitable for the

crop grown. 2uring World War $$, for e#ample, seeral *.S. Army units successfully produced

egetables hydroponically at arious oerseas bases. $n the "&:9s hydroponic farming deeloped on

a commercial scale in the arid regions of the *nited States, particularly in Ari7ona. $n other arid

regions, such as the (ersian Gulf and the Arab oilproducing states, hydroponic farming of tomatoes

and cucumbers is under way; these countries are also researching an additional group of crops that

may be grown by this method as they hae limited arable land.

Requirements for hydroponics

Hydroponics systems cannot be applicable in poor growing conditions such as improper

temperature, inade-uate light, or pests6 problems. )ollowing are the re-uirements for hydroponics

plants to surie#ygen plants will re-uire good amount of o#ygen for respiration to carry out their work

of nutrients and water uptake. The best way to supply o#ygen is to bubble the air through

the water solution.

Temperature hydroponics grow well within limited temperature range. ?ither too high or

too low temperature results in reduced productions and abnormal deelopments of the

plants.

Light plants like egetables and fruits grown through hydroponics need at least @ to "9

hours of direct sunlight each day to produce well. Howeer as an alternatie to sunlight, can

apply bright light or highpressure sodium lamps to produce the same effects.

=ineral nutrients green plants must absorb certain minerals through their roots to surie.

The essential elements needed in large -uantities include potassium, calcium, nitrogen,

magnesium, phosphorus and sulfur.

Hydroponics may also be called 4controlled enironmental agriculture4 as it helps to control the

enironmental systems like water, light, +>', o#ygen, pH and nutrient.

Index of image of hydroponic

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Basic Hydroponic Systems and Ho !hey "or#

There are : basic types of hydroponic systems; Wick, Water +ulture$ ?bb and )low 1)lood

2rain3, 2rip 1recoery or nonrecoery3, B.).T% 1Butrient )ilm Techni-ue3 and Aeroponic.There

are hundreds of ariations on these basic types of systems, but all hydroponic methods are a

ariation or combination of these si#.

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The Wick system is by far the simplest type of hydroponic system. This is a passie system,

which means there are no moing parts. The nutrient solution is drawn into the growing medium

from the reseroir with a wick. )ree plans for a simple wick system are aailable. This system can

use a ariety of growing medium. (erlite, Eermiculite, (ro=i# and +oconut )ibre are among the

most popular. The biggest drawback of this system is that plants that are large or use large amounts

of water may use up the nutrient solution faster than the wicks can supply it.

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The water culture system is the simplest of all actie 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 o#ygen to the roots

of the plants.

Water culture is the system of choice for growing leaf lettuce, which are fast growing water

loing plants, making them an ideal choice for this type of hydroponic system. Eery few plants

other than lettuce will do well in this type of system.

This type of hydroponic system is great for the classroom and is popular with teachers. A

ery ine#pensie system can be made out of an old a-uarium or other water tight container. There

hae free plans and instructions for a simply water culture system.

The biggest drawback of this kind of system is that it doesn6t work well with large plants or

with longterm plants.

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The ?bb and )low system works by temporarily flooding the grow tray with nutrient

solution and then draining the solution back into the reseroir. 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 reseroir. The Timer is set to come

on seeral times a day, depending on the si7e and type of plants, temperature and humidity and the

type of growing medium used.

The ?bb )low is a ersatile system that can be used with a ariety of growing mediums.

The entire grow tray can be filled with Grow 5ocks, grael or granular 5ockwool. =any people

like to use indiidual pots filled with growing medium, this makes it easier to moe plants around

or een moe them in or out of the system. The main disadantage of this type of system is that

with some types of growing medium 1Grael, Growrocks, (erlite3, there is a ulnerability to power

outages as well as pump and timer failures. The roots can dry out -uickly when the watering cycles

are interrupted. This problem can be relieed somewhat by using growing media that retains more

water 15ockwool, Eermiculite, coconut fibre or a good soilless mi# like (romi# or )affard6s3.

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2rip systems are probably the most widely used type of hydroponic system in the world.

>peration is simple, a timer controls a submersed pump. The timer turns the pump on and nutrient

solution is dripped onto the base of each plant by a small drip line. $n a 5ecoery 2rip System the

e#cess nutrient solution that runs off is collected back in the reseroir for reuse. The Bon5ecoery

System does not collect the run off.

A recoery system uses nutrient solution a bit more efficiently, as e#cess solution is reused,

this also allows for the use of a more ine#pensie timer because a recoery system doesn6t re-uire

precise control of the watering cycles. The nonrecoery system needs to hae a more precise timer

so that watering cycles can be ad!usted to insure that the plants get enough nutrient solution and the

runoff is kept to a minimum.

The nonrecoery system re-uires less maintenance due to the fact that the e#cess nutrient

solution isn6t recycled back into the tank, so the nutrient strength and pH of the tank will not ary.

This means that you can fill the tank with pH ad!usted nutrient solution and then forget it until you

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need to mi# more. A recoery system can hae large shifts in the pH and nutrient strength leels

that re-uire periodic checking and ad!usting.

F. B.).T. 1Butrient )ilm Techni-ue3

This is the kind of hydroponic system most people think of when they think about

hydroponics. B.).T. systems hae a constant flow of nutrient solution so no timer re-uired for the

submersible pump. The nutrient solution is pumped into the growing tray 1usually a tube3 and flows

oer the roots of the plants, and then drains back into the reseroir.

There is usually no growing medium used other than air, which saes the e#pense of

replacing the growing medium after eery crop. Bormally the plant is supported in a small plastic

basket with the roots hanging into the nutrient solution.

B.).T. systems are ery ulnerable to power outages and pump failures. The roots dry out

ery rapidly when the flow of nutrient solution is interrupted

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The aeroponic system is probably the most hightech type of hydroponic gardening. Like the

B.).T. system aboe the growing medium is primarily air. The roots hang in the air and are misted

with nutrient solution. The misting is usually done eery few minutes. ecause the roots are

e#posed to the air like the B.).T. system, the roots will dry out rapidly if the misting cycles are

interrupted.

A timer controls the nutrient pump much like other types of hydroponic systems, e#cept the

aeroponic system needs a short cycle timer that runs the pump for a few seconds eery couple of

minutes.

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)ertili7er for organic hydroponics

Difference &eteen hydroponic$ organic and 'regu(ar' ferti(i)ers

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oth hydroponic fertili7ers and those intended for use in soil contain the three ma!or

nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The ma!or difference in hydroponic fertili7ers is that

they contain the proper amounts of all the essential micronutrients which fertili7ers intended for

use with soil do not. The plants are e#pected to find these elements in the soil, assuming that the

trace elements are in fact present. (roblems can arise for the plants if any or all of the micro

nutrients are not present in the soil or are depleted by successie or e#cessie plantings. Hydroponic

fertili7ers are usually in a more refined form with fewer impurities making them both more stable

and soluble for better absorption. >rganic fertili7ers, in most cases, are ery different than either

hydroponic or soil fertili7ers both in composition and how they delier the nutrient to the plants.

>rganic fertili7ers rely on the synergistic action of bacteria and microbes to break down nutritional

substances for easier uptake by the plants.

Hydroponic and soil fertili7ers proide nutrients in a readytouse form. While once, they

were mutually e#clusie, in recent years a number of outstanding organic fertili7ers hae hit the

market in formulations refined enough for use in hydroponics

*d+antages of Hydroponics

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Today, space is increasingly at the premium. With hydroponics, plants can be grown

anywhere where no soil e#ists and light is aailable. )or e#ample, plants can be grown on a rooftop

or ne#t to the window sill. $n apan, egetables are grown in the supermarket itself and it supplies

crispy fresh egetables to the shoppers. $t saes money on transport and the benefit of haing fresh

produce offset the high cost of city land. Therefore, hydroponics farming can be iable irrespectie

of the alue of land.

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A soil system is difficult to keep in control due to the comple# chemical and biological

nature of the soil. (lants nutrients are fre-uently not aailable to plants due to poor soil structure or

unfaourable soil pH alue. (lants growing in soil are also fre-uent competitors for the essential in

the soil solution. >n the contrary, a hydroponics grower has the freedom to regulate the composition

of the nutrient solution and the fre-uency of the feeding of nutrient. This gies the hydroponics

grower a considerable degree of control oer the plant growth.

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Hydroponics has no need for tilling of soil, fumigation, watering, pulling of weeds or yelling

at the neighbour6s dog for running through your crops.

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A properly designed hydroponics system uses a lot less water and nutrients than soil culture.

This is because the nutrients can be recycled through the system. This adantage is significant as it

can lead to a reduction in the pollution of land and the stream with high leels of run off nutrients.

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The chance of soilborne disease is largely reduced with hydroponics as it is a soilless

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culture system, thus the need to fumigate is much lessened. With soil culture, the animal waste, high

residues of pesticides, and soil microorganisms applied on to food crops and pose a health ha7ard to

consumers.

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$n hydroponics cultiation, seedlings can be easily raised in either foam or rock wool

propagation blocks. These blocks can be then transplanted directly into the hydroponics system

without a need to prick out the plants as in the case of soil media. Therefore, hydroponics shortens

the propagation time needed and also reduces the transplant shock in young seedlings.

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The use of heay machines in conentional agriculture farming compacts in the soil and

results in damage to the soil structure. This could lead to serious soil erosion problems. $t is

estimated that in the *nited States, three billion tonnes of topsoil are lost through soil erosion eery

year as a result of human actiities. This problem could be significantly curtailed if much of the

present farmlands are conerted to hydroponics farming.

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$n hydroponics culture, the plant nutrients and water are aailable in sufficient amounts all

year round, thus allowing higher density planting. $t is also possible to grow plants in multileels

with hydroponics. Together with the absence of pests and diseases which can affect the oerall

production, the increase in yields per acre under hydroponics cultiation is striking compared to soil

cultiation.

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Disad+antage of hydroponics

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The initial cost for construction of the hydroponics system is high, so, a hydroponics farmer

may be limited in growing crops that either gies a high return or rapid turnoer.

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Trained personnel knowledgeable in the principles of plant nutrition and operation of

commercial hydroponics are necessary to manage a hydroponics farm, as the failure rate is high in

the hands of amateurs.

Conc(usion

Hydroponics is a farming method that doesn6t use soil but water or the other porous

substances as a growth medium. $t has a nutrient control that content of essential component as

plant needs. esides easy to grow the plant, by using hydroponics techni-ue also more easier

compare by grow the plant with the soil method because it really simple and can gie the plant the

nutrient as they needed.

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)urthermore, hydroponic hae many benefits which is the plant can be grown by any places

where no soil e#ist, easy to control the plants growth, well maintained of water and nutrient, culture

e#tensie where the plant nutrients and water are aailable in sufficient amounts all year round, thus

allowing higher density planting, also can reduce the pest and disease and many more.

Bi&(iography

". )rom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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74774253 asg hydroponics siap

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