L. V. Ravishankar, Agronomist & Soil and Soilless Consultant, Research and Development in charge, Takamoul Agro, Mbane, Senegal, West Africa, explains the hydroponic cultivation systems designed to enhance crop production while reducing reliance on natural resources. By controlling nutrients, light, and water, these systems help plants grow faster and healthier. They offer a long-term solution for meeting the increasing demand for food.
It is important to know what hydroponics is, why it is so important, where it should be installed, when it should be installed, the area, and the crops. It is also important to know the amount of support we will get from the government for the hydroponics project, and how to get the support from the government. There are so many aspects we need to cover before venturing into hydroponic cultivation. For this, we should have the basic knowledge about hydroponics. Since it is a new concept coming up in the agriculture sector, it is a very sophisticated technology. It is being developed by scientists, and in developed countries like Israel, the Netherlands, and Denmark, they have come up with many different concepts of hydroponics.
Hydroponics is basically a soilless cultivation, unlike traditional cultivation, which we do in an open field, with soil as a medium for the exchange of nutrients to plants. We all know sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide are essential to form the organic substance known as food for the plants. To get all these, there are some requirements necessary for growth and development, such as macro and micro elements. Macro elements include elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and calcium, while micro elements that are required in minimal quantities have a major role to play in production activities.
When we think of different aspects of hydroponics, it is working on water as a medium. We dissolve the nutrients in the water to supply to the plant so that the yield is very good. There are different types of cultures, such as water culture, the drip method, and aeroponics. We can observe that baby potatoes are produced through aeroponics, and they are of very good quality and yield well all year round. We used to cultivate baby potatoes only during the Rabi season, but with the introduction of hydroponics, especially the aeroponic system, we are able to produce high-quality potatoes all through the year using the greenhouse or polyhouse. We can meet the demands for fresh produce of high quality. The drip system is supplying the solution needed for hydroponic cultivation. The upper part of the tank is the feeding system. Through that, we can apply the nutrients into that and supply them to the pots where plants are grown.
Soil-less farming benefits
The advantages of hydroponics are many. If we take India, we come across only small and marginal farmers who don’t have a large landholding. They may have one or two acres maximum. But in the case of other countries, the landholdings are huge. So it helps in good cultivation and yield. Even Saudi Arabia has started growing crops under a hydroponic system. They usually do not have fresh fruits or vegetables, and they used to import from other countries only. In order to mitigate the situation, countries like Saudi Arabia and African countries have started producing hydroponic products. This is working out very efficiently, and they can meet the demands of the people.
In India, we observe that the spices contain high levels of pesticide residues. For example, chilli. This cannot be omitted from our meals every day. Similarly, coriander, pepper are also there, but chilli is the main constituent of our food. With so many pesticide residues, we always run the risk of getting cancer or other diseases. So, it is necessary for us to look for alternative means of reducing the residue level. Due to the climatic conditions, we are also coming across diseases in chilli crops that lead to heavy loss for the farmers as the production comes down, and the marketability also becomes tough. To meet the demand, again, we apply pesticides or chemicals to improve the yield. With these facts in mind, we are working on growing fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, cabbage, cucumber, cauliflower, gherkins, and gourds under hydroponic conditions. These crops have a short life span and yet are needed for day-to-day life for the nutrients in them. So, by introducing these crops into hydroponic cultivation, we can get a better yield than the ones from open fields. It will be almost 3 times as much for the farmers.
Hydroponic cultivation limitations
There are a few disadvantages also. We lack knowledge about what kind of assistance the government will give, how much will be given by each state and central government, how much we can avail, and we are not very much aware of the schemes that are available to us from the government. We are also not clearly aware of the subsidies, the area that is eligible, etc. We need to have a deeper knowledge of hydroponics. All that we know is that it is a soilless cultivation. But we do not know much about the type of substrates to be used, where to get them, how to get them, the cost involved, and how and in what proportion they should be used. We also should know the crops that are suitable for hydroponic cultivation, the substrate needed for each of the crops, and the diseases that may affect the crops. The main aim of hydroponic cultivation is to reduce the attack of diseases, increase the production, and any slightest mistake will lead to failure of the crop. We need some technical guidance and advice from the hydroponic experts to meet the demand and increase the production without incurring too much loss.
Key hydroponic requirements
Hydroponic cultivation is good for crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, brinjal, chilli, capsicum, etc. Porosity is very important in hydroponic cultivation; there should be no clogging of water that will affect the nutrient solution. When we feed the nutrient solution, the crops should hold the nutrient in the substrate to give good results. So, growing substrates using hydroponic substances is usually done on coarse gravel, sawdust, perlite, vermiculite, rockwool, expanded clay pellets, coconut fibre, grow stones, and oasis cubes. The main concepts in hydroponics are growing substrate, nutrient solution, and a clear system before we start hydroponic cultivation. We can observe plants absorbing water within a week. Before we go for subtration, we must work on our economic stability. If we can go for the repurchase of substrates, the amount we are likely to spend, and the amount of substrate that we should get. On EarthTainertomatofest.com, we can get details of hydroponic cultivation, the mixtures, and how plants absorb water from the reservoir that supplies water to all plants.
Rockwool generally has a high water-holding capacity; it should be pre-soaked before using. It is not recyclable or reusable. Coconut fibre is easily available, but the salt concentration of potassium and sodium salts is high. We should know how these salts can be minimised. The grow stone is the molten lava rock. This cannot be decomposed, and we can reuse it in the dust bucket system. Oasis cubes are like our sponges; they are not compostable, they cannot be decomposed, and they are not reusable. These are good for seedlings sprouting. The natural light greenhouse needs some artificial light to supplement also. So we can use light emitting diodes like red, violet colours, and there are so many screening lights we can use based on the artificial supplement of the light. We also need to check the pH daily; if it is fluctuating, we need to add the buffers. For most plants, the pH should be between 5.8 to 6.1. When we give the nutrient solutions, it can change, affect the nutrient uptake, and so we need to check the plants that can maintain the pH between 5.5 to 6.5, which is the most ideal range for hydroponic crops.
Versatile soil-less farming
We can grow exotic plants like lettuce, strawberries, basil, Italian basil, etc, under hydroponic cultivation with proper guidance on the technique. February is a good time for harvesting different types of vegetables. We have varieties of cucumber, such as European ones that are self-pollinated. They can produce a very good yield under hydroponic cultivation. In the summer, we can go for musk melons, water melons, cut flowers like Gerbera, varieties of carnation, and bell peppers, which are very economical, difficult to grow, and we have to manage the nutrients according to the crop. In the Dutch deep water culture technique, the fibrous roots form nicely; in deep water culture, the roots are small. We can have root raft culture in our homes if we want to cultivate crops like lettuce. We can use PVC pipes or a normal air cooler motor for a continuous flow of nutrient solutions. For crops like cucumbers and lettuce, we do not need any pollination. There is a wide variety of bell peppers, such as yellow, red, orange, and purple ones. Under tomato, we have Beef Steak, cherry tomatoes, and vine tomatoes. We can determine the greenhouse conditions where we can have prolonged production.
Dissolved oxygen is very important for hydroponic cultivation, by which we can get a continuous supply of oxygen to the water for the roots to exchange. The EC must be 1.5 and can go up to 2.5. To maintain the temperature, we can have a fan and pad system of cooling. During summer, we have to decrease the temperature by operating extra inputs like power, and we can close the shade nets so that we can maintain the temperature in the greenhouse. This is an artificial mechanism or manipulation of microclimate by which we can provide a good microclimate for plant propagation. During winter, if we go for supplemental light like fluorescent and LED lights, it is very useful for flowering plants. Metal Halides are best during the vegetative period, and LED is useful for seedlings.
The macronutrients include NPK, and the secondary nutrients are magnesium, calcium, and trace elements such as sulphur, iron, manganese, copper, iron, and boron. We should know the compatibility, combination, and which one to apply to which plants. Otherwise, it is difficult to get a good yield. We have to find out the soil content that has become deficient and manage it accordingly. The single nutrition solutions, like mycorrhizal fungi, can be used. Bio inputs, flower boosters, silicates, root healers, and cleaning solutions are some of the options. The nutrient recipes for hydroponics are very difficult and a long process. Each unit has to have its own recipes for better yield.
Knowledge ensures success
We must have at least 50% of knowledge to maintain the hydroponic farm, as it involves a heavy investment of money. If we step into this venture without any training, it is difficult to make a profit. We should start with small plants like leafy vegetables and then grow slowly. We can improvise then. Many people are coming up with solutions and suggestions, and discoveries now, and they have introduced lots of varieties like grow bags. Any mistake will cost heavily. So it is better to enter this field with some knowledge, guidance, and training. The present growers think that it is very difficult, but in my opinion, it is not very tough; we have to put in our effort in understanding the concept and methods. It can go up to a few lakhs also. We should get a subsidy from the government to start the project. But we can get the subsidy only once.
Traditional vs hydroponics
There is not much difference between the types of farming. In traditional farming, we give the plant nutrients, and we broadcast them. We need to take care of them as the population in the open field is very high. In Hydroponic farming, we have a specification of the number of plants that should be cultivated in a given space. The lesser the space, the maximum foot footprints we get. Every day, there is a new technique being introduced in hydroponic cultivation. We have to think about why we are doing a certain thing, how to get positive results, and how to manage if we get negative results. We have to keep developing our knowledge before proceeding further. Once we start getting positive results, we can proceed further.
Thriving hydroponic ventures
There are many successful stories. One person from Jammu had the training from us, started his own 2500 sq. ft hydroponic farming unit, and currently he is earning about Rs. 10 to 20 lakhs a month. He has cleared all his debts. He also got a 60% subsidy. He sells the products directly to the market, like hotels and households. In hydroponics, the main problem is getting into the market. People do not normally believe that we approach them directly. So, we need to approach e-commerce to deliver the product. We have to commercialise, we have to give advertisements for our content, and supply should be there all through the year.
Contact details
Dr. L. V.Ravishankar Reddy ( Plant Pathologist)
Agronomist & Soil and Soilless Consultant, Research and Development incharge, Takamoul Agro, Mbane, Senegal, West Africa
Contact: 8074060223,9494140334
Email: lvrsrreddy@gmail.com
It is important to know what hydroponics is, why it is so important, where it should be installed, when it should be installed, the area, and the crops. It is also important to know the amount of support we will get from the government for the hydroponics project, and how to get the support from the government. There are so many aspects we need to cover before venturing into hydroponic cultivation. For this, we should have the basic knowledge about hydroponics. Since it is a new concept coming up in the agriculture sector, it is a very sophisticated technology. It is being developed by scientists, and in developed countries like Israel, the Netherlands, and Denmark, they have come up with many different concepts of hydroponics.
Hydroponics is basically a soilless cultivation, unlike traditional cultivation, which we do in an open field, with soil as a medium for the exchange of nutrients to plants. We all know sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide are essential to form the organic substance known as food for the plants. To get all these, there are some requirements necessary for growth and development, such as macro and micro elements. Macro elements include elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and calcium, while micro elements that are required in minimal quantities have a major role to play in production activities.
When we think of different aspects of hydroponics, it is working on water as a medium. We dissolve the nutrients in the water to supply to the plant so that the yield is very good. There are different types of cultures, such as water culture, the drip method, and aeroponics. We can observe that baby potatoes are produced through aeroponics, and they are of very good quality and yield well all year round. We used to cultivate baby potatoes only during the Rabi season, but with the introduction of hydroponics, especially the aeroponic system, we are able to produce high-quality potatoes all through the year using the greenhouse or polyhouse. We can meet the demands for fresh produce of high quality. The drip system is supplying the solution needed for hydroponic cultivation. The upper part of the tank is the feeding system. Through that, we can apply the nutrients into that and supply them to the pots where plants are grown.
Soil-less farming benefits
The advantages of hydroponics are many. If we take India, we come across only small and marginal farmers who don’t have a large landholding. They may have one or two acres maximum. But in the case of other countries, the landholdings are huge. So it helps in good cultivation and yield. Even Saudi Arabia has started growing crops under a hydroponic system. They usually do not have fresh fruits or vegetables, and they used to import from other countries only. In order to mitigate the situation, countries like Saudi Arabia and African countries have started producing hydroponic products. This is working out very efficiently, and they can meet the demands of the people.
In India, we observe that the spices contain high levels of pesticide residues. For example, chilli. This cannot be omitted from our meals every day. Similarly, coriander, pepper are also there, but chilli is the main constituent of our food. With so many pesticide residues, we always run the risk of getting cancer or other diseases. So, it is necessary for us to look for alternative means of reducing the residue level. Due to the climatic conditions, we are also coming across diseases in chilli crops that lead to heavy loss for the farmers as the production comes down, and the marketability also becomes tough. To meet the demand, again, we apply pesticides or chemicals to improve the yield. With these facts in mind, we are working on growing fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, cabbage, cucumber, cauliflower, gherkins, and gourds under hydroponic conditions. These crops have a short life span and yet are needed for day-to-day life for the nutrients in them. So, by introducing these crops into hydroponic cultivation, we can get a better yield than the ones from open fields. It will be almost 3 times as much for the farmers.
Hydroponic cultivation limitations
There are a few disadvantages also. We lack knowledge about what kind of assistance the government will give, how much will be given by each state and central government, how much we can avail, and we are not very much aware of the schemes that are available to us from the government. We are also not clearly aware of the subsidies, the area that is eligible, etc. We need to have a deeper knowledge of hydroponics. All that we know is that it is a soilless cultivation. But we do not know much about the type of substrates to be used, where to get them, how to get them, the cost involved, and how and in what proportion they should be used. We also should know the crops that are suitable for hydroponic cultivation, the substrate needed for each of the crops, and the diseases that may affect the crops. The main aim of hydroponic cultivation is to reduce the attack of diseases, increase the production, and any slightest mistake will lead to failure of the crop. We need some technical guidance and advice from the hydroponic experts to meet the demand and increase the production without incurring too much loss.
Key hydroponic requirements
Hydroponic cultivation is good for crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, brinjal, chilli, capsicum, etc. Porosity is very important in hydroponic cultivation; there should be no clogging of water that will affect the nutrient solution. When we feed the nutrient solution, the crops should hold the nutrient in the substrate to give good results. So, growing substrates using hydroponic substances is usually done on coarse gravel, sawdust, perlite, vermiculite, rockwool, expanded clay pellets, coconut fibre, grow stones, and oasis cubes. The main concepts in hydroponics are growing substrate, nutrient solution, and a clear system before we start hydroponic cultivation. We can observe plants absorbing water within a week. Before we go for subtration, we must work on our economic stability. If we can go for the repurchase of substrates, the amount we are likely to spend, and the amount of substrate that we should get. On EarthTainertomatofest.com, we can get details of hydroponic cultivation, the mixtures, and how plants absorb water from the reservoir that supplies water to all plants.
Rockwool generally has a high water-holding capacity; it should be pre-soaked before using. It is not recyclable or reusable. Coconut fibre is easily available, but the salt concentration of potassium and sodium salts is high. We should know how these salts can be minimised. The grow stone is the molten lava rock. This cannot be decomposed, and we can reuse it in the dust bucket system. Oasis cubes are like our sponges; they are not compostable, they cannot be decomposed, and they are not reusable. These are good for seedlings sprouting. The natural light greenhouse needs some artificial light to supplement also. So we can use light emitting diodes like red, violet colours, and there are so many screening lights we can use based on the artificial supplement of the light. We also need to check the pH daily; if it is fluctuating, we need to add the buffers. For most plants, the pH should be between 5.8 to 6.1. When we give the nutrient solutions, it can change, affect the nutrient uptake, and so we need to check the plants that can maintain the pH between 5.5 to 6.5, which is the most ideal range for hydroponic crops.
Versatile soil-less farming
We can grow exotic plants like lettuce, strawberries, basil, Italian basil, etc, under hydroponic cultivation with proper guidance on the technique. February is a good time for harvesting different types of vegetables. We have varieties of cucumber, such as European ones that are self-pollinated. They can produce a very good yield under hydroponic cultivation. In the summer, we can go for musk melons, water melons, cut flowers like Gerbera, varieties of carnation, and bell peppers, which are very economical, difficult to grow, and we have to manage the nutrients according to the crop. In the Dutch deep water culture technique, the fibrous roots form nicely; in deep water culture, the roots are small. We can have root raft culture in our homes if we want to cultivate crops like lettuce. We can use PVC pipes or a normal air cooler motor for a continuous flow of nutrient solutions. For crops like cucumbers and lettuce, we do not need any pollination. There is a wide variety of bell peppers, such as yellow, red, orange, and purple ones. Under tomato, we have Beef Steak, cherry tomatoes, and vine tomatoes. We can determine the greenhouse conditions where we can have prolonged production.
Dissolved oxygen is very important for hydroponic cultivation, by which we can get a continuous supply of oxygen to the water for the roots to exchange. The EC must be 1.5 and can go up to 2.5. To maintain the temperature, we can have a fan and pad system of cooling. During summer, we have to decrease the temperature by operating extra inputs like power, and we can close the shade nets so that we can maintain the temperature in the greenhouse. This is an artificial mechanism or manipulation of microclimate by which we can provide a good microclimate for plant propagation. During winter, if we go for supplemental light like fluorescent and LED lights, it is very useful for flowering plants. Metal Halides are best during the vegetative period, and LED is useful for seedlings.
The macronutrients include NPK, and the secondary nutrients are magnesium, calcium, and trace elements such as sulphur, iron, manganese, copper, iron, and boron. We should know the compatibility, combination, and which one to apply to which plants. Otherwise, it is difficult to get a good yield. We have to find out the soil content that has become deficient and manage it accordingly. The single nutrition solutions, like mycorrhizal fungi, can be used. Bio inputs, flower boosters, silicates, root healers, and cleaning solutions are some of the options. The nutrient recipes for hydroponics are very difficult and a long process. Each unit has to have its own recipes for better yield.
Knowledge ensures success
We must have at least 50% of knowledge to maintain the hydroponic farm, as it involves a heavy investment of money. If we step into this venture without any training, it is difficult to make a profit. We should start with small plants like leafy vegetables and then grow slowly. We can improvise then. Many people are coming up with solutions and suggestions, and discoveries now, and they have introduced lots of varieties like grow bags. Any mistake will cost heavily. So it is better to enter this field with some knowledge, guidance, and training. The present growers think that it is very difficult, but in my opinion, it is not very tough; we have to put in our effort in understanding the concept and methods. It can go up to a few lakhs also. We should get a subsidy from the government to start the project. But we can get the subsidy only once.
Traditional vs hydroponics
There is not much difference between the types of farming. In traditional farming, we give the plant nutrients, and we broadcast them. We need to take care of them as the population in the open field is very high. In Hydroponic farming, we have a specification of the number of plants that should be cultivated in a given space. The lesser the space, the maximum foot footprints we get. Every day, there is a new technique being introduced in hydroponic cultivation. We have to think about why we are doing a certain thing, how to get positive results, and how to manage if we get negative results. We have to keep developing our knowledge before proceeding further. Once we start getting positive results, we can proceed further.
Thriving hydroponic ventures
There are many successful stories. One person from Jammu had the training from us, started his own 2500 sq. ft hydroponic farming unit, and currently he is earning about Rs. 10 to 20 lakhs a month. He has cleared all his debts. He also got a 60% subsidy. He sells the products directly to the market, like hotels and households. In hydroponics, the main problem is getting into the market. People do not normally believe that we approach them directly. So, we need to approach e-commerce to deliver the product. We have to commercialise, we have to give advertisements for our content, and supply should be there all through the year.
Contact details
Dr. L. V.Ravishankar Reddy ( Plant Pathologist)
Agronomist & Soil and Soilless Consultant, Research and Development incharge, Takamoul Agro, Mbane, Senegal, West Africa
Contact: 8074060223,9494140334
Email: lvrsrreddy@gmail.com