Hydroponics is an innovation of agriculture that bypasses soil culture in favour of a different way (nutrient-rich water) of supporting plant roots for growth in a greenhouse.
This innovation permits healthy crops to be grown and tended through nutrient-infused water solution, as opposed to the traditional planting approach of spreading seeds directly into the soil.
Hydroponics is fast becoming the future of sustainable agriculture in that, under a greenhouse, environmental factors are being controlled to meet the requirements needed for each plant to thrive and reproduce.
Hydroponics as an innovative means of agriculture, combined with technology is aimed at producing healthy crops, supplying adequate nutrients to plants and allowing them to spend more time growing upward while meeting the demand for food production.
Plants that can be cultivated in a hydroponics system include: Leafy veggies: lettuce, broccoli, basil, spinach, coriander etc
Benefits of Hydroponics
- A minimum amount of water is required: With less water demanded in the hydroponics system of farming, it is possible in the near future for people experiencing harsh climatic conditions to grow their plant-based food, with little access to water.
- Land conservation and better crop yield: Through technological innovations and creativity, hydroponics has been able to provide the future with an advantage to grow large amounts of crops on a small space of land. More so, with less space required, it is possible to get more quality crops produced all year round compared to soil farming.
- Controlled chemical application: Proper greenhouse construction and maintenance in hydroponic farming help to reduce the demand for pesticides and herbicides. This approach allows the usage of chemicals to be kept to a minimum.
- Uniform distribution of nutrients: Under the hydroponic system of planting, nutrients are supplied to plant roots through the process of fertigation. With fertigation, the roots of a plant already have a graded amount of nutrients in the water-based solution, therefore, allowing even distribution of nutrients.
In response to solving key issues in food production and reducing hunger as a global concern, hydroponics is quickly becoming a tool to project a predictable yield in food production through suitable technology and innovation.
