Water for Hydroponics
Application Overview
Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, without soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel, or mineral wool.
Plant physiology researchers discovered in the 19th century that plants absorb essential mineral nutrients as inorganic ions in water. In natural conditions, soil acts as a mineral nutrient reservoir but the soil itself is not essential to plant growth. When the mineral nutrients in the soil dissolve in water, plant roots are able to absorb them. When the required mineral nutrients are introduced into a plant's water supply artificially, soil is no longer required for the plant to thrive. Almost any terrestrial plant will grow with hydroponics.
Hydroponics can increase yields of commercial crops because plants are grown closer together than in the field; it also eliminates weeds and pests.
Hydroponics allows automation of cultivations: temperature, lighting, pH and nutrients concentration control and ventilation. Hydroponics is also a standard technique in biology research and teaching.
The two main types of hydroponics are:
- Solution Culture
- Medium Culture
The medium culture method has a solid medium for the roots and is named for the type of medium, e.g. sand culture, gravel culture or rockwool culture. There are two main variations for each medium, sub irrigation and top irrigation.
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