Why Hydroponic Fruits & Vegetables Farms are Trending in India?
Hydroponics is gradually gaining popularity in India, attracting an increasing number of farmers. Hydroponics is a subset of hydroculture, which is a way of growing plants, typically crops, without soil by employing mineral fertiliser solutions in an aqueous solvent.
Hydroponic farming, which is soil-free, water-based gardening, may even be done on a balcony. Plants are fed nutrient-rich water instead of soil, which eliminates most of the baggage associated with soil-based methods. Hydroponics Fruits and Vegetables
Urban farmers are increasingly turning to hydroponics, a water-saving method of growing pesticide-free fruit on rooftops and terraces. According to research, between 2020 and 2027, India’s hydroponics market will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 13.53 percent.
- What is the concept of hydroponics?
Hydroponics is a sort of hydroculture in which plants are grown in a water solvent containing mineral and fertiliser solutions without the use of soil. Only the roots of terrestrial plants can be cultivated, either with the roots exposed to the nutritive liquid or physically supported by a media such as gravel.
Photosynthesis is a process in which plants use sunlight and a chemical called chlorophyll found inside their leaves to transform carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen, as seen in the reaction.
6CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6(Glucose)+ 6O2
Nutrients for hydroponic systems can come from a variety of places, including fish waste, duck manure, and chemical fertilisers.
Advantages of Hydroponics
- Plantation without soil
Plants can be grown in regions where land is scarce, non-existent, or contaminated. Hydroponics was a successful technique utilised to supply fresh vegetables for troops on Wake Island in the early time period. NASA has identified it as the future farming method for growing foods for humans in space.
- Better space and location use
Because all of the plants’ needs are supplied and maintained through a system, you can grow plants in a small apartment, bedroom, or kitchen if you have enough space.
Plant roots generally stretch and spread out in search of food and oxygen in the soil, but in hydroponics, roots are immersed in an oxygenated nutrient solution and come into direct touch with critical minerals. As a result, you’ll be able to grow your plants closer together and save a lot of space.
- Controlling the weather
Climate, temperature, humidity, light, and air composition are all under the control of hydroponic farmers. That is, regardless of the season, you can grow foods all year. Planting crops at the correct time can help farmers enhance their revenues.
- Water saving
Because water is recirculated in this approach, hydroponically grown plants can use 10% less water than field-grown plants. Plants will absorb the required water, while run-off water will be collected and re-circulated back into the system. Only evaporation and system leaks will cause water loss in this system.
- Use of nutrients
You have complete control over the nutrients (foods) that plants demand with this strategy. Farmers can identify what the plants require before planting, as well as the amount of nutrients needed at different stages and the proportions in which they should be mixed with water.
- Better growth rate
Is it true that hydroponic plants develop faster than plants grown on soil? Yes, because temperature, sunlight, moisture, and, most importantly, nutrients are all environmental elements that encourage plant growth. Nutrients are delivered in adequate quantities and make direct contact with the root systems when plants are placed in proper locations. As a result, plants don’t waste energy looking for diluted nutrients in the soil, instead concentrating on growth.
