HYDROPONIC SCIENCE

SECTION: CROP SCIENCE

LECTURE NOTES (I-III)

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO HYDROPONIC
SCIENCE
1.0 HYDROPONIC FARMING
This is a branch of hydro culture in which plants are grown in an aquatic based
environment or soilless medium.
It is the modern technology farming in which plant growth and productivity is
controlled by water and the nutrient levels in the water.
In other words, it is the farming without soil and growing the crops on water.
The word Hydroponics means “Water Related” and this technology of farming has
become popular and has greater applications in modern farming practices.
The medium does not have to be water, it can be a solution filled with nutrients or
an inert growing medium.
The basic principle behind hydroponics is to allow the plants roots to come in direct
contact with the nutrient solution, while also having access to oxygen, which is
essential for proper growth.
1.0.1 Hydroponics Farming Process
In Hydroponics Farming, water is enriched with well-balanced nutrients which are
essential for plants growth and better yield. Water level pH will be maintained within
the specific range which results in better growth and produce.
In this farming, plants take the nutrients from the water and using sun light, they
produce the output.
As we said it’s a soilless farming, one should ensure to replace the basic functions
of soil while opting for Hydroponics farming. The following are the basic functions
of the soil which have to be provided in water based farming in the absence of soil.
The soil has some functions in crop growth and the same should be provided in a hydroponics based
system. These include:

❖ Plant Root System Support:

Generally, in Hydroponics system, a medium like gravel or plastics are used for
supporting the plant root system.
❖ Supply of Nutrients:
In the soil based farming system, nutrients are supplied from organic content.
Whereas in Hydroponics farming, fertilizers are added in the water for providing the
well balanced nutrition to the plants.
❖ Supply of Oxygen:

In soil based farming, plants use the oxygen from the soil where as in Hydroponics,
plants get the oxygen from the water. This is just like providing the oxygen for fish
in the tank/pond.
❖ Supply of Water:

In soil based farming, plants get the water from the soils to establish the root system
in the soil whereas in Hydroponics farming, water is directly supplied to the plants.
1.2 PROS AND CONS OF HYDROPONICS
Advantages of Hydroponic Farming
• Growing with hydroponics comes with many advantages, the biggest of which
is a greatly increased rate of growth in your plants. With the proper setup,
your plants will mature up to 25% faster and produce up to 30% more than
the same plants grown in soil.
Your plants will grow bigger and faster because they will not have to work as hard
to obtain nutrients. Even a small root system will provide the plant exactly what it
needs, so the plant will focus more on growing upstairs instead of expanding the root
system downstairs.
❖ Hydroponics farming requires less water compared to soil based farming.A
hydroponic system is enclosed, which results in less evaporation.
Believe it or not, hydroponics is better for the environment because it reduces waste
and pollution from soil runoff.
❖ Hydroponics uses all the mineral nutrients provided in the water without any
wastage thus it provides the less pollution farming.
❖ Hydroponics system can be automated and managed easily.
❖ Unlike traditional farming methods, Hydroponics farming requires less space.
Disadvantages of Hydroponic Farming
❖ High costs of capital and energy input
❖ Requires high skill of management for successful production
❖ Nutrients need to be monitored on a daily basis
1.3 HYDROPONICS SCIENCE: THE BASICS
The most important thing for you is to realize is that Hydroponics should be easy.
Simply there is no easier way to grow- house plants, ornamental plants, vegetables
such as tomatoes, lettuce, beans, fruit, root crops such as potatoes, carrots, onions,
flowers such as roses and carnations, bulbs, vines, trees, orchids, herbs- anything in
Hydroponics.
The systems described will explain whether they suit small plants like lettuce and
herbs with smaller root systems or larger plants like tomatoes and cucumbers with
larger root systems, short term crops like lettuce or long term crops that will be in
the system for more than 3-4 months.
1. LIGHT
Light is the energy that creates life. Life cannot exist without it, and cannot thrive
without enough of it.
Sunlight is an ideal source of light for plants to produce and for good healthy growth.
If you’d feel hot or cold in the sunlight, then the plants would feel that too. Plants
tend to grow well in the same climate as humans feel comfortable.
A PLANT GETS ALL ITS ENERGY FROM THE LIGHT IT ABSORBS
THROUGH ITS LEAVES. LOW LIGHT LEVEL REDUCE THE GROWTH
RATE.
2. OXYGEN
Oxygen keeps a plant’s roots healthy and allows the plant to take up nutrient.
Oxygen is the key to growth rate. Without oxygen around the roots, the roots will
rot and die. You cannot grow in water, unless you dissolve oxygen in it.
The recommendation is that you do not grow in water, just feed enough nutrients to
keep the roots moist, with access to oxygen.
PLANTS CANNOT TAKE UP THEIR NUTRIENTS UNLESS OXYGEN IS
PRESENT. THE MORE OXYGEN, THE FASTER THE UPTAKE OF
NUTRIENT.
3. NUTRIENT SOLUTION
Nutrients must be solely designed for Hydroponics.
Soil fertilizers require bacteria to break down more complex elements into useful
ones. They are likely to be less soluble, not pH adjusted, and are usually too slow to
release the necessary elements to be suitable for Hydroponic systems.
Plants may grow for a little while in Hydroponics using soil fertilizers but they
generally exhibit minor mineral deficiencies, then develop major deficiencies, until
even changing to a Hydroponic nutrient can’t correct the disorders.
Soil fertilizers normally kill hydroponically grown plants, but not overnight.
Certainly they will never produce as nature intended them to if you do not supply
the right amount of minerals in a soluble form. When growing, a plant generally
takes more nitrates.
During flower production and/or fruit production, plants generally increase their
potash and phosphate uptake, but lessen their need for nitrates.
Once you have a good brand of nutrients, mix exactly to directions. Less is better
than too much. Less will make a plant grow faster, but more stretched, and leafy than
normal.
More will create a compact plant that hardly grows upward but is extremely bushy,
woody, but can be a heavy bearing fruiter/flowerer.
If nutrient strength is strong or weak to the extreme, this will lead to deficiencies or
death.
For instance, too strong, and calcium is deficient because the plant is not taking up
nutrient fast enough.
If the nutrient is too weak, it is the same deficiency, but due to insufficient calcium
in the nutrient.
THE NUTRIENT CONTENT AND STRENGTH GOVERNS HEALTH, HEIGHT,
LEAF AND FLOWER PRODUCTION, AND ALL GROWTH ASPECTS.
4. NUTRIENT pH (ACIDITY AND ALKALINITY)
pH is the level of acidity or alkalinity of the nutrient solution. Think of it as sweet
and sour. Most nutrients in water will be within the range of 6 to 6.5 pH.
If the nutrient is too sweet or too sour, the plants will develop deficiencies.
pH IS THE KEY TO KEEPING PLANTS FEEDING ON THE CORRECT
ELEMENTS AND KEEPS THEM FROM DEFICIENCIES
5. TEMPERATURE AND FRESH AIR
Optimum temperature depends on the plants. Generally, Phosphorus up-take is
severely impeded below 15 degrees Celsius, so that’s our bottom temperature.
It is recommended to heat the nutrient if it is below 15 degrees Celsius for more than
4 hours per day.
Maximum temperatures are around 30 degrees Celsius but as long as it is well below
the temperature where humans start to sweat the plants should be all right.
Plants tend to grow best in climates approximate to human comfort.
So if you visit your plants and it feels like a blast furnace, or a freezer, it is likely
they would benefit from some attention on the matter.
Fresh air is absolutely essential in shade-house, tunnel-houses, glasshouses and
grow-rooms, as the Carbon Dioxide the plants breathe is essential for every plant p
Poor ventilation will kill plants, as surely as poison. You will notice ventilation
problems by the better growth near vents, doors, or fans.
If plant growth is more sluggish away from these areas, then you should improve
your fresh air, or use Carbon Dioxide enrichment systems to add CO2.
PLANTS NEED CARBON DIOXIDE IN EVERY PLANT PROCESS. THEY
NEED FRESH AIR, NOT TOO MUCH HEAT OR THEY CANNOT PROCESS
DUE TO WATER LOSS AND NOT TOO COLD OR THEY CAN’T GET THEIR
FOOD.
6. WATER PURITY
If you are using bore water, spring water, dam water or rain water, you may have to
check to see if this is suitable.
What problems could occur?
❖ The salt content of the water may be too high,
❖ The zinc content from metal (zinc-alum) tanks, could make it toxic for plants
(even though it may be still safe for us to drink).
 ❖ Chemicals, poisons or fertilizers, could be contaminating the water supply.

1.4 DEFINITIONS/TERMINOLOGY IN HYDROPONOCS

1. Nutrient Solution
The nutrient solution is probably the most important part of a hydroponic system.
It might sound complex, but it’s actually just a fancy way of saying nutrients
dissolved in water.
The reason hydroponics gardening is so effective is because the plants are fed not
just water, but water brimming with vital nutrients needed for optimal plant
growth.
You can purchase a soluble form of these nutrients (in different mixes, designed to
support different plants) that you simply add to water in the required dosage and
then introduce to your system.
The nutrient solution is the term we use to describe water that has already had
these nutrients added to it.
2. Nutrient Reservoir
The nutrient reservoir, often shortened to “reservoir”, is where the nutrient solution
is kept before it is fed to the plants.
It is usually an old fish tank, or a large plastic container, that can hold large quantities
of water.
It is important the nutrient reservoir is not made from anything metallic as this is
likely to introduce harmful elements into the nutrient solution which can be quite
damaging to your plants.
3. Grow Tray
In most hydroponic systems you will find the plants kept separate from the nutrient
reservoir.
The plants are grown in what is known as a grow tray, or grow chamber.
4. Delivery System
The majority of hydroponic systems keep the grow tray separate from the nutrient
reservoir.
Obviously, the plants need to access the nutrient solution, and it is the job of the
delivery system to feed the plants.
The delivery system is responsible for moving the nutrient solution from the nutrient
reservoir to the grow tray and then draining the excess solution back into the
reservoir.
5. Pump
All hydroponic systems will feature a pump – often the same type that is found in an
aquarium set-up.
The pump is used to pump the water from the reservoir into the grow-tray, or simply
to circulate the water in the reservoir to keep it oxygenated and discourage algae
growth.
6.Air Stone
An air stone is great for adding oxygen into the nutrient solution, which will promote
faster growth rates in your plants.
If there is no pump to circulate the solution and no air stone, well, there will be very
little oxygen in the water.
The airs tone will solve this problem, as well as keeping the nutrient solution fresher.
7. Growing Medium
The growing medium is what the plant grows in.
If you are putting plants in your garden, then you are most likely using soil as your
growing medium.
However, plants don’t need soil to grow, and there are plenty of other materials that
can be used to support a plant’s weight and root system.
Examples
Rockwool, Expanded Clay, Perlite, Vermiculite.
CHAPTER 2: HYDROPONICS SYSTEMS
There are six major systems in Hydroponics.
Almost every type of hydroponic system is built around the principles of one of these
six systems (or perhaps a hybrid/ combination between two systems).
Understanding the basics of each type will allow you to make an educated decision
when selecting your first system.
1. DRIP SYSTEM
The most commonly used hydroponics system is the drip system.
The main principles behind the hydroponic drip system are relative simple which
makes them incredibly easy to use, hence their popularity.
Vital nutrients are added to a tank of water to create a nutrient reservoir which is
kept separate from the plants. The water is then pumped up a network of tubes, and
is released to the plants.

The pump can be controlled by a timer, taking any manual watering out of the
equation, and allowing you to decide how frequently you want a watering cycle to
occur.
You will have to check the solution reservoir periodically: as the plants absorb the
nutrients this will start to distort the makeup of the nutrients remaining in the water.
Drip Systems make a very good system for both long term and short-term crops.
Large plants quickly, with no troubles either with design or maintenance.
2. EBB & FLOW SYSTEM
The ebb and flow hydroponic system (otherwise known as a flood and drain system)
is also a very popular form of hydroponics.
They work in a similar way to the drip system, but are actually even more simplistic
to use which makes them a great first hydroponics system for a first time gardener.

Like in the drip system, an ebb and flow system also makes use of a nutrient
reservoir, keeping the water in a separate tank to the plants, which are placed in a
grow tray above.
A timer is set to periodically activate a pump which is kept in the nutrient reservoir.
When activated, the pump will flood the grow tray with the nutrient solution, feeding
your plants the nutrients they require for optimal growth.
When the grow tray is sufficiently flooded, the system will turn itself off, and the
excess runoff will begin to drain back into the nutrient reservoir. This continuous
cycle of flooding the growing tray, and then allowing it to drain, is where the system
gets its name.
Because the runoff filters back into the nutrient reservoir the system is very low
maintenance, and almost self-sufficient.
As with the drip system, the pump timer can be manually set to feed your plants as
frequently as necessary to suit their needs.
However, unlike the drip system, there is no way to tailor the amount of the nutrient
solution that each individual plant receives: all plants in the growth tray will be
flooded equally.
Because of the ebb and flow systems simplicity, it is relatively easy to build your
own system at home.
However, if you don’t have the time for this you can also pick them up relatively
inexpensively, and the simplicity of the system means most are plug in and go.
Flood and Drain is excellent for permanent crops, Herbs, Flowers, and all crops.
Harvesting plants usually means taking some of the media with the roots, so I do not
usually grow short-term crops in flood and drain, but it works very well. If root crops
are grown, make the expanded clay a fine grade and keep flood cycles far enough
apart so that rotting does not occur.
Root Crops will do better in a Pot with Perlite really, but you can give it a try.
Striking cuttings with a Flood and Drain System is excellent, just add some rooting
hormone to the nutrient solution. Too many floods could lead to stem rot in this case
so halve your flood cycles, or keep a good eye on your cuttings.
3. NUTRIENT FILM TECHNIQUE (NFT)
The third type of hydroponic system is known as the Nutrient Film Technique, or
NFT for short. NFTs are often used in commercial hydroponics, particularly for short
harvest crops.
The nutrient solution is pumped from the reservoir up into the grow tray in a
continuous cycle.
The growing chamber is built with the slightest downhill decline, allowing the
solution to trickle from the top end of the tray to the bottom, where it is recycled
back into the nutrient reservoir.
Instead of a regulated watering schedule, the plants in an NFT hydroponic system
are provided with a constant flow of nutrient solution.
The slope is set at a shallow angle to ensure the solution only trickles along the
growing tray.
However the slope is sufficient for ensuring that the solution does reach the bottom,
where it is drained back into the reservoir.

This ensures the grow tray is never flooded, which prevents your plants from being
overfed. In fact, only a small film of nutrient solution is accessible to the plants —
which are suspended above with their roots hanging down — at any given point.
Because there is no timer involved there is less scope for anything to go wrong. This
means maintenance is kept to the bare minimum: You simply prepare the nutrient
solution and then turn the pump on.
Because the system can run for so long without being manually checked, they
usually include an air stone in the nutrient reservoir which is vital for keeping the
water within the system oxygenated.
You can grow leafy vegetables such as lettuce, beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts,
cauliflower, celery, cress, mustard, endive, most herbs if short term (because of
smaller root systems), okra, peas, beet, spinach, squash, and many other medium
sized plants.
4. AEROPONICS SYSTEM
The aeroponics system is the most technologically advanced of all the hydroponic
systems.
Many top scientists have claimed that this very system could be the solution to food
shortages in the future.
The plants are suspended in the air, as in the NFT system, with their roots hanging
down below.
The nutrient solution is then pumped up a tube, where a second higher pressure pump
sprays the solution as a mist over the dangling roots.

Because each misting provides the plants with less food than a standard cycle in,
say, a drip system, the misting takes place considerably more frequently, which does
mean a more advanced timer is required.
This, as well as the high pressured pump, can mean that the component costs are
higher for this type of system.

The nutrient water is moved around far more frequently in this system due to the
regularity of the feedings, as well as the actual process of turning the water into mist.
This means the nutrient solution is far more oxygenated than in any other system,
and this helps the plants achieve faster growth rates. The plants will also adjust to
their feeding methods, and will grow more roots to enable them to absorb more
nutrients from the mist.
5. DEEP WATER CULTURE (DWC)
Deep Water Culture (DWC) systems are by far the simplest method of hydroponics.
Unlike the other systems we have looked at, the grow tray in a DWC system is not
kept separate from the nutrient reservoir.
Instead, the growing platform (often a piece of Styrofoam) is simply floated on top
of the nutrient solution!
This floating platform will hold the top of the plant, including the leaves, above the
water, but will have holes cut into the bottom to allow the roots to grow down and
directly into the solution.
It is also not an appropriate hydroponic system for every type of plant: Because the
roots are constantly submerged in an abundance of nutrient solution, many plants
will suffer from being overfed.
Therefore it is recommended you only use this system for water-loving plants, such
as lettuce.

6. AQUAPONICS
An aquaponic system actually features real, living fish!
Far from being a novelty hydroponic system though, this arrangement actually
creates an intricate ecosystem that benefits both the plants and the aquatic life
swimming below.
In an aquaponic system, the fish are essentially living in the nutrient reservoir.
Their excrement releases ammonia into the water, as does any uneaten food.
Ammonia is toxic to fish, and if they remain in water filled with ammonia they will
die; therefore, it must be removed to keep them healthy.
The good news for the plants in the aquaponics system is that the fish are effectively
creating a natural fertilizer for them.
When bacteria mixes with the ammonia in the water it will turn into nitrate, one of
the nutrients that is essential for optimal plant growth. This is then pumped into the
grow tray where it is fed to the plants.