College and Education

Posts Tagged ‘Soil’

The word hydroponics is derived from the Greek words Hydro (water) and Ponos (labor or work) and literally means “working water.” Hydroponics is the science of crops without soil.
Although hydroponics is, in practice, synonymous with “farming without land,” this does not necessarily mean that plants grow in water or hanging in the air or water baths as is the case of aeroponics. There are various ways of hydroponics, some of which make use of solid substrates that are NOT GROUND, such as coconut shell, rice husk, washed river sand, perlite, rock wool, etc.. In these substrates plants may be adequate support to grow and offer the ability to hold moisture and promote oxygenation of the roots of plants.
Land is a classic substrate for growing. Provides support, maintains moisture and has own soil nutrients which make the crop. On the ground, however, the flow of oxygen is not good and can transmit bacterial and viral diseases that occur in addition to factors such as pollution of soil and groundwater.
These problems do not occur with hydroponics, because the substrate used in hydroponics only offers the support and the ability to hold moisture and oxygen to the roots of plants. It brings nutrients and is easily controlled that is free from contamination and pests and diseases. The nutrients in the water (HYDRO) is used as a nutrient solution of hydroponics. And that is where the true art of the technique, to have adequate nutrient solutions for each crop at different stages, from the nursery (seed), through germination, bud, growth, flowering, pollination, fruit production and harvesting. Read the rest of this entry »