Assessing Opportunities and Difficulties in Hydroponic Farming

Abstract

Background: Hydroponics or water-culture-based agricultural systems are devoted to a reasonable prospect for future farming agriculture production. Especially in that region where the fertility of agricultural land is continuously going to there is a decline in groundwater level for irrigation. Hydroponics-based agriculture system realizes an admiring action towards an eco-friendly system and innovative technique to overcome challenges concerning food safety. Hydroponics is an advanced agriculture technique in which the plants grow without soil and without any pesticide use. It is used to grow plants, vegetables and shrubs on vertical as well as horizontal basis in the series and parallel. It could be applied via glass pots, clay pots, PVC pipes and useless plastic buckets and bottles. Methods: In the present study vegetables, flowering plants and shrubs were grown successfully by the use of mainly three techniques of hydroponics namely Kratky, Wick and DFT methods. This study was continued for two and half years (4th July 2020 to 21st March 2021 and December 2019 to April 2020) with controlled pH and TDS of the nutrient solution and conducted at different Indian climatic, weather and seasonal conditions at Markanda National College,Shahabad Markanda and at the researcher’s home. Several vegetables and plants were grown from Kratky, Wick and DFT hydroponics methods under continuous monitoring of pH and TDS of nutrient solutions. Result: During the conduction of this study of the growth of mustard, ladyfinger, spinach, marigold, daisy basil (Tulsi), cucumber, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, peas, peppermint, coriander leaves plants in different sessions; some challenges and opportunities were discussed. The main objective of this research study is to spread awareness about novel types of advanced future agricultural techniques or farming among the farmers and masses, who have an interest in agriculture but cannot fulfill their ambitions towards agriculture farming due to scarcity of agricultural land. The results obtained from the growth of vegetable and plant through hydroponics methods province us to follow an idea to use of such agricultural techniques. We have grown several below said crops/vegetables two or three times and face several problems. It is an opportunity to overcome the world’s food scarcity at a large scale, if adopted by a large population all over the world.