Which is better – Hydroponics VS Soil Cultivation

Hydroponics refers to the method of growing a plant without the use of soil. Some centuries ago, farmers realized that plants absorbed nutrients via the soil that soaks around their roots the soil, acting as a nutrient reservoir, and as a medium in which plants stabilizes itself. Hydroponic systems in India are still a rarity. Though there are now a few companies that provide hydroponics kits in India. If the water supplied to a plant already contains the necessary material and the plants are secured by another material, the soil is unnecessary. This discovery demands the attention of farmers who were involved in agriculture although it did not cause an immediate change in farming. Interest in hydroponics increased in the 20th century as they gained interest on other large-scale agricultural operations. Hydroponics farming does not need pesticides and they pose no threat to humans. Hydroponic farming uses less nutrient material to feed their plants; these exist within a self-contained environment that can easily control the waste products. This is much better, as prevents excessive use of fertilizers unlike in the traditional farming where more fertilizers are used and end up flowing into the rivers and spoiling the water to be used by the humans and the animals. In states like Tamil Nadu where there is the severe shortage of water Hydroponic farming can effectively improve agriculture output. The government in other states have also started giving out small hydroponic kits to farmers so that they can gain exposure to the types of hydroponic systems in India.

Hydroponics calls for less amount of water and nourishment; in the hydroponics system less water is used since the required water is supplied in fixed proportions and a controlled environment, furthermore, water is recycled in this system.
This is very advantageous compared to irrigation where a lot of water is wasted without recycling or in the traditional farming methods. This also reduces the farmer’s water cost hence lowering the production costs.
No soil is needed in this system; farming is done without any soil and it only uses 10 percent of the water used in traditional farming. Furthermore, the plants grown on this method have a higher growth rate compared to the normal planting.
The faster growth is contributed by a highly controlled environment with the availability of more oxygen, water, and nourishing substances for the plants.
Large amounts of foods can be grown in small plots of land; this system requires only a small plot of land since the hydroponics produce faster growth of plants. The areas produce more foods per acre plot of land than the normal farming.
Hydroponics can be produced at any season since they grow into their own controlled environment which is controlled and protected from predators like plant-eating animals.
Less amount of time and work is required in hydroponics gardening; the amount of work needed is very little due to the absence of the weeds that would require time to pluck them out.
This method is time-saving since no weeds are present only some few minutes are needed to check the nutrient levels and the harvesting processes.
Hydroponics provides the exact needs to the plants appropriately; this means that plants will grow fast depending on their genetics and compared to a plant grown to the normal soil, hydroponic plants grow faster and they appear to be much healthier.
Hydroponic plants will grow larger; this is because you have full control over the plant’s environment to the optimal. However, plants access all the nutrients that they require and in the right proportions.
Hydroponic plants are also said to grow 50% faster, this is because plants do not need to expand their roots to look for nutrients; they are already there in abundance and home hydroponics are said to grow extremely fast.
If you find the correct pH, growing medium, and technology, the results could be amazing; however, it does not require advanced knowledge it only requires the basic knowledge of the equipment and a little of the scientific knowledge.

Hydroponics Farming by Using LED Grow Lights

The use of artificial lighting to grow crops indoor has been a revelation to the farming industry. This application of artificial lighting is not the most widespread in India, considering the costs while choosing amidst other hydroponic technologies.

Primarily hydroponic crops in India are not grown under artificial lights, but as a hybrid of hi-tech poly-house farming and hydroponics to provide a more affordable option for those interested in getting into this sector. India is a country with plenty of sunlight for the most part of the year, save for intermittent rain in the monsoon. As a consequence, grow lights for commercial hydroponic farming may not appear to be the most viable option.

Hydroponic Farming in Tamil Nadu has greatly benefited from the wealth of sunlight the state gets. FutureFarms is a startup that leverages Hydroponics and Controlled Environment Agriculture to provide Turnkey Hydroponic Solutions.

These turnkey acre based solutions are done on available flattened land, with the use of “Hi-Tech” poly-house farming and automated hydroponic systems to bring down the cost of hydroponics farming in India. This has enabled farmers to have a commercially viable business model based on Hydroponic produce in the current Indian agriculture market for the immediate need.

Indoor farming, in contrast, will be a necessity of the future for hydroponic farming in India.
With more migrations to cities from rural areas, Hydroponic farming in Tamilnadu and other states in India will have to turn to hyper-localized food factories in the metropolitan cities for production of food crops, this can only be done with the use of grow light systems, climate control, and hydroponics.

Currently, indoor farming has great application in extreme weather conditions, places with low levels of sunlight for a good portion of the year and for super specialized applications such as tissue culture and other biotechnological applications. The MonolithiQ is one such system from Future Farms that can be customized to suit various conditions with specialized application in humid regions.

With its inbuilt automatic climate control capability, it can maintain required temperatures consistently. It leverages technology from world-class monitoring and Dosing equipment from Future Farm’s international partner Bluelab from New Zealand and FutureFarms proprietary PlAi (read as ‘play’ for plant intelligence) software. The system is ideally suited to be used in research-intensive applications, as it provides a highly controlled and monitored environment and unlimited potential in data logging required parameters. The MonolithiQ stands as a statement to the technology that hydroponic plants in India will grow in, in the near future.

We are currently faced with a Grow light environment that is expensive and unregulated. The current lights use large quantities of electricity and are not the most energy efficient. But with the advent of more efficient and cheaper lighting technology which will bring down the cost of indoor hydroponic farming in India. Combine this with research into the right amount of light for supercharging crop growth. The possibilities are endless when we use indoor farming to take back control of our food.