AGRICULTURE

1. HYDRPONICS AND AEROPONICS
AND ITS UTILITY IN INDIAN SCENERIO

2. INDIRA GANDHI KRISHI VISHWAVIDHYALAYA
BTC COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE & RESEARCH STATION , BILASPUR
MASTER SEMINAR ON
HYDROPONICS AND AEROPONICS AND ITS
UTILITY IN INDIAN SCENERIO
SUBMITTED BY
Kuldip Sinh Rathod
M.Sc. (Agronomy) 1st Year & 1st Sem.
Department of Agonomy
SUBMITTED TO
Dr. T.D. Pandey
Professor & HoS
Department of Agronomy
Course.no-Agron 591
Credit Hours-01

3. CONTENTS
 INTRODUCTION
 HISTORY
 METHODS
 WHICH TYPE OF PLANTS WE CAN GROW IN HYDROPONICS.
 ADVANATAGES OF HYDROPONIC SYSTEM
 DISADVANTAGES OF HYDROPONIC SYSTEM
 SCOPE IN INDIAN AGRICULTURE
 CHALLENGES IN INDIAN SCENERIO
 POSSIBILITY IN FUTURE
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCES

4. INTRODUCTION
• Hydroponic is an art of Cultivation of
plants Without using The soil.
• Also popular with The name “soil less
culture”.

5. • Hydroponic is a greek term,Made
from Two words-Hydro means water
and ponos means labor.Thus
“working water” is a true meaning of
hydroponics.
• Europe is considered the biggest
market for hydroponics in which
France, the Netherlands, and Spain
are the three top producers, followed
by the United States of America and
Asia-Pacific region.

6. HISTORY
ANCIENT HISTORY
 It started the in the Ancient City of Babylon with its famous
hanging gardens,which are listed as one of the seven wonders
of the Ancient world.

7. • The floating Gardens of the Azects of Central America
are another example.(During 1300-1521)

8. MODERN HISTORY
 In the late 1920s and early 1930s,DR.william F.Gericke of
the university of california extended his laboratory
experiments and work on plant nutrition.
 In doing so he termed these Nutriculture
systems “Hydroponics”.
 In 1990s NASA grew aeroponic bean
seedling in zero gravity abroad a space
station,opening up the possiibility
of sustainable Agriculture in space.

9. METHODS OF HYDROPONIC SYSTEM
WICK SYSTEM
WATER CULTURE
EBB AND FLOW
SYSYTEM
DRIP SYSTEM
N.F.T.
AEROPONICS

10. 1.WICK SYSTEM
 The Wick system is a simple type of system. There are no
moving parts in this passive system.
 The wick is used to draw the nutrient from the reservoir
solution into the growing medium.
 Perlite, Vermiculite, Pro-Mix and Coconut Fiber are the most
popular growing mediums which are used in this system.

11. 2.WATER CULTURE
 The water culture system is the simplest of all active systems.
 A floating platform is used to hold the plants directly on the
nutrient solution. This platform is usually made of Styrofoam.
 Oxygen is supplied to the roots of the plants through an air
pump. This system is used for fast growing water loving
plants like lettuce.

12. 3.EBB AND FLOW SYSTEM
 In this system the
growing tray is flooded
with the nutrient solution
and then drained back
into the reservoir. A
submerged pump with
timer is used for this
action.
 The timer is used to turn
the pump on so that the
nutrient solution reaches
to the grow tray.
 When the timer shuts the
pump down, the solution
comes back into the
reservoir.

13. 4.DRIP SYSTEM
 Drip system is widely used system in the world. A
submersed pump is controlled by a timer.
 The nutrient solution is dripped onto the base of
each plant by a small drip line when the timer puts
the pump on.

14. 5.NUTRIENT FILM TECHNIQUE
 N.F.T. systems ensure constant flow of nutrient solution, so
the submersible pump is not connected with any timer.
 The growing tray (usually a tube) is filled with the nutrient
solution through the pump and the solution flows over the
plant roots. Then collected back into the reservoir.

15. 6.AEROPONIC
• The aeroponic system is a high-tech type
hydroponic system. Air is used as growing medium
primarily like N.F.T.
• The plant roots hang in the air and are misted
with nutrient solution. If the misting cycles are
interrupted the roots would dry up because they
are exposed in the air.
• The nutrient pump is controlled by a timer here
like other systems, but in this system a short cycle
timer is required where the pump is run every
couple of minutes for few seconds.

17. Which type of plants we can
grow?
 Vining plants- Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Peas
etc.
 Root plants-Carrots, Radish etc.
 Fruits- Raspberries, Strawberries, Small
papaya, Pepper, Blue berries etc.
 Greens- Spinach, Cabbage, Lettuce, Celery,
Mint etc.
 Herbs- Basil, Rosemary, Parsley, Watercress
etc.

18. ADVANTAGES OF HYDROPONIC
SYSTEM
 Plants do not have to search for food in the soil rather
the directly get all nutrient from the solution.
 Hydroponics saves water.
 It can be used in areas where in-ground agriculture
or gardening is impossible (for example, desert
areas or cold climate regions).
 Complete control of nutrient content, pH and
growing environment.
 Lower water requirement and nutrient costs
because of water and nutrient recycling.
 Faster growth due to more available oxygen for
the roots of plants

19.  Elimination or reduction of soil-related insects, fungi
and bacteria.
 No weeding or cultivation is required.
 Some crops, such as lettuce and strawberries, can be
lifted from ground level to a height for planting and
cultivation. This gives much better working conditions
and hence lowers labour costs.
 Crop-rotation/following is not necessary.
 Transplant shock is reduced.
 It ends the unpredictibility of growing plants outdoors
and it is suitable for indoor Growing.
 Effective use of nutrients

20. DISADVANTAGES OF HYDROPONIC SYSTEM
 The initial expenses are little too high because
whole set up of a hydroponics system requires
a greenhouse.
 The grower needs to have enough knowledge
and experience to run the system successfully
depending upon the size of the system along
with that maintainance of clogging,Working
medium and favourable condition is also
necessary.

21.  Sometimes whole set up gets destroyed
due to power outage.
 Hydroponic plants have much Smaller
root systems,they cant support
themselves very well.
 Heavy fruiting plant may need Quite
elaborate forms of support.

22. SCOPE OF HYDRPONIC IN INDIAN SCENERIO
 .In india population size is increasing
indiscriminately, so the size of the arable land
reducing in availability. By using hydroponics
methods, the farmers can solve the problem of
arable land availability in near future
 Indian weather condition, agriculture is being
affected by climate change like unseasonal
rain, hailstorm. But in hydroponics farming
system, plants can grow under controlled
condition by creating the artificial atmosphere.

23. • As hydroponics farms needs less space and
water and the growth rate of the crops is very
quick than the traditional one. With excess
food availability, there will be no struggle for
hunger by farming in hydroponics system.
• This market of products of hydroponic
farming in India consists of consumers who
are health conscious and will readily pay a
premium for organically grown produce that is
fresh, safe, and healthy.

24. CHALLENGES IN INDIAN SCENERIO
 One of the greatest challenges farmers face is the
lack of technical knowledge. It is a system that needs constant
human intervention. Therefore, specific technical knowledge
is necessary. The pruning, ventilation, temperature, nutrient
solution and other factors must be incorporated in the required
manner.
 Hydroponics system cost is high, so it is not affordable by
poor farmers of India.
.
 Providing skills and training to all types of farmers from poor
to average is not an easy task.
 Ensure for better outcome and high yields commitment for
the farmer and helping them to create interest is another
challenge for us.

25.  If the farmers willing to work in this area, and having less knowledge
about system, they need to hire a horticulturist or skilled staff. And to
hire a staff at affordable salary is actually a big problem.
 Hydroponics is now used in countries with extreme weather conditions
like high frost or high temperatures with arid and sandy soils.
For Ex- Dubai has severe water shortage issue but, they have no problem
of energy, they can cultivate vegetables using hydroponics in many acres
of land using air conditioners an Indian cannot farmer afford that.
 Hydroponics as claimed by many people say that it saves 90% of
water, but what are the prevailing conditions which make the production of
plants with less than 90% water? These include temprature, humidity and
proper carbon dioxide in the air surrounding the plant, right illumination,
proper water temperature, dissolved oxygen level in water, right pH, right
TDS and the list goes on for a commercial scale..

26. POSSIBILITIES IN FUTURE
 Providing more number of training to farmers.
 Providing them hydroponics system at affordable rates.
 For hydroponics urban areas should be projected to
build hydroponic food park in every city.
 Agricultural universities and Research institution
should work in co-operation with Government of India
to perform survey and try to bring this techniques at
large scale so that farmers could learn something from
it.
 Farming should give most respected profession in
Nation so that young farmers could see his/her future in
fields in agriculture working with latest agricultural
techniques.

27. CONCLUSION
 Though in the initial stages, hydroponic farming in India is gaining popularity among farmers
who are ready to mix traditional knowledge of farming with scientific principles.
 It may become complicated for the farmer with conventional knowledge to switch to different
farming practices, but the science behind it follows principles of agronomy that can be learned
with time.
 However, one must note that soil growing is more forgiving of errors than most hydroponic
growing systems. Hydroponic growing systems are not easy to manage by the unskilled and
inexperienced.
 While hydroponic culture may seem attractive from the online information, where it has often
been labelled as a simplified technology, it is not the case in reality. This farming technique
requires scientific management of crops, considering factors like temperature, humidity, pest
control, and, most importantly, nutrition.

28.  A single kg of spinach grown normally on farm and 1 kg of
hydroponic spinach will fetch the same price in an Indian market.
 Pioneer nations who developed hydroponics like Israel, America,
Canada, etc., have their own research and methodologies which will
cost higher amounts of money to be shared with us. So, commercial
hydroponics in India as I can say is not the requirement of hour as it
involves many parameters.but there is a possibility in future.

29. Regions where hydroponic farming can be a good option
 Areas with a limited supply of water.
 Rocky regions where traditional farming is not possible.
 Areas with low soil fertility.
 Areas that can cater to the demand for organic products.
 Areas where There is no soil like space, extra terrestrial planets
like Mars, Moon, etc.

30. REFERENCES
 Jones, J.B. 2005. Hydroponics: a practical guide for the soil-less grower.
CRC Press. Boca Raton. Fla.
 Mason, J. 1990. Commercial hydroponics. Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst,
NSW.
 http://www.quara.com
 https://enterclimate.com/blog/scope-of-hydroponic-farming-in-india
 http://www.journalijar.com/article/20707/challenges-and-possibilities-in-
hydroponics:-an-indian-perspective./