Selasa, 05 Januari 2016

What Happens In A Hydroponics Store

By Thomas Scott


Hydroponics is a branch of hydroculture involved with growing of plants without soil but mineral nutrient solutions and water. Terrestrial plants are now grown without water, but root systems immersed in nutrient solutions. Plants need to receive water to grow well. Methods of delivering water and nutrient are many and diverse. Some major ones include hanging root systems in nutrient solutions directly, placing root systems in substrates in containers, and finally misting the roots.

Substrates replace soils in cases where plants are suspended in the substrates. Various kinds of substrates exist today. Major ones include sawdust, perlite, pebbles, wood chips, rockwool, and sand. Substrates are made with great ability to allow gaseous exchange and prevent water loss. Root systems grow deep into the substrates to offer support. Many people in the world are engaged in this form of agriculture because it presents several benefits. Today one can spot a hydroponics store anywhere.

This technology has a long history. Earliest publication on the technology was done in 1627 by Francis Bacon. The publication was printed after the death of Bacon and since then research in that direction increased. Several publications were done since 1699. The technology was modified severally as research continued to perfect it.

Today, solution culture and medium culture are the two key types of hydroponics in existence. Solution cultures are named so because they lack a solid medium. Medium culture have a solid medium for providing plants with support.

Solution cultures are further subdivided into three major subgroups. The subgroups are aeroponics, continuous-flow solution culture, and static solution culture. Medium cultures are named according to the type of medium used for instance rockwool culture and gravel culture. The two cultures can further be divided according to the kind of irrigation used. There are two kinds of irrigation systems in wide use today, that is top irrigation and sub-irrigation.

Today, most hydroponic reservoirs in use are manufactured from plastic materials. However, formerly, other materials including wood, metal, concrete, glass, and vegetable solids were in wide use. In fact, there are still some reservoirs made of such materials. The reservoirs must never be exposed to sunlight to prevent growth of algae.

Nutrients are dissolved before being supplied to plants. Nutrients are usually in form of ions and inorganic form. The number of recipes used to make hydroponic solutions is huge. The desired composition is attained by mixing numerous chemicals together. Potassium phosphate, potassium nitrate, magnesium sulfate, and calcium nitrate are among chemicals used to provide macronutrients. As plants continue to absorb water and nutrients from soils, salt concentration increases to harmful levels. Close monitoring is required to avoid that.

Many countries exercise this form of agriculture on a commercial scale now. Because plants receive a constant supply of nutrients and pest problems are reduced, productivity is very high. However, growth in plants may be limited by low concentration levels of CO2 and limited exposure to sunlight.




About the Author:



Tidak ada komentar:

Posting Komentar