HYDROPONICS

Hydroponics is a technology for growing plants in nutrient solutions (water containing

fertilizers) with or without the use of an artificial medium (sand, gravel, vermiculite,
rockwool, perlite, peatmoss. coir, or sawdust) to provide mechanical support. Liquid
hydroponic systems have no other supporting medium for the plant roots: aggregate
systems have a solid medium of support. Hydroponic systems are further categorized
as open (i.e., once the nutrient solution is delivered to the plant roots, it is not reused)
or closed (i.e., surplus solution is recovered, replenished, and recycled).
In combination with greenhouses, it is high technology and capital-intensive. It is also
highly productive, conservative of water and land, and protective of the environment.
Yet for most of its employees, hydroponic culture requires only basic agriculture skills.
Since regulating the aerial and root environment is a major concern in such
agricultural systems, production takes place inside enclosures designed to control air
and root temperatures, light, water, plant nutrition, and adverse climate.

Types of Hydroponic Growing Systems

There are six different types of hydroponic growing systems, they are: Aeroponic, Drip,
Ebb and Flow, N.F.T, Water Culture and Wick.
Aeroponic System: One of the most high tech growing systems
Drip System: The most widely used type of hydroponic systems
Ebb and Flow System: The system can be modified in many ways
N.F.T.: Nutrient Film Technique System - most commonly thought of
Water Culture System: A very simple to use hydroponic system
Wick System: The simplest of all hydroponic systems

Aeroponic System

While the concept of the aeroponic system is quite simple, it's actually the most
technical of all 6 types of hydroponic systems. However it's still fairly easy to build
your own basic aeroponic system, and a lot of home growers like growing in them as
well, and even get really good results using this type of hydroponic system.
Like with any other type of hydroponic system, you can use many different kinds of
materials to build it, as well as many different types of design setups to fit in your
space. Your really only limited by the space you have, and your imagination.
Some advantages to using an aeroponic systems are they typically use little to no
growing media. The roots get maximum oxygen, and the plants grow more rapidly as
a result. Aeroponic systems also generally use less water than any other type of
hydroponic system (especially true aeroponic systems). Also harvesting is usually
easier, especially for root crops.
However there are a few downsides to aeroponic systems as well. Besides being a bit
more expensive to build. The mister/sprinkler heads can clog from build up of the
dissolved mineral elements in the nutrient solution. So make sure to have extras on
hand to swap out when they do clog while you clean them. Also because the plants
roots are hanging in mid air by design in aeroponic systems, the plants roots are much
more vulnerable to drying out if there is any interruption in the watering cycle.
Therefor, even any temporary power outage (for any reason) could cause your plants
to die much more quickly than any other type of hydroponic system. Also there's a
reduced margin for error with the nutrient levels in aeroponic systems, especially the
true high pressure systems.

Drip System
Drip systems are one of the most widely used types of hydroponic systems around the
world, both for home growers as well as commercial growers alike. That's mainly
because it's an easy concept and needs few parts, but yet it's a very versatile and
effective type of hydroponic system. Even though it's an easy concept, it won't limit
your imagination when building your own systems. The way a drip system works is
just like it sounds, you simply drip nutrient solution on the plants roots to keep them
moist.
Hydroponic drip systems can easily be designed in many ways, as well as from small
to large systems. But their especially useful for larger plants that take a lot of root
space. That's because you don't need large volumes of water to flood the system, and

the drip lines are easy to run over longer spaces. As well as when using a larger
amount of growing media for larger plants, more growing media retains more
moisture than smaller amounts, and that's particularly beneficial to large plants
because it's more forgiving to the plants. Forgiving meaning that the plants arent as
sencitive to watering times, so they don't stress imeditaly if they don't get waterd on
time for one reason or another.

Ebb and Flow System

Flood and Drain (Ebb and Flow) systems are very popular with home hydroponic
growers for many reasons. Besides how easy they are for anyone to build, you can use
almost any materials you have laying around to build them with, so you don't need to
spend much money to grow plants hydroponically. Also they can be built to fit in any
available space you might have (both indoors or outdoors), and there is no limit to the
different and imaginative ways to design them for that space. Along with being
inexpensive and easy to build, plants grow very well in flood and drain systems. The
flood and drain system works basically like it sounds, by simply flooding the plants
root system with nutrient solution. Only periodically rather than continuously.
How a hydroponic flood and drain system operates quite simple. The main part of the
flood and drain system holds the containers the plants are growing in. It can be just
one plant, or many plants/containers in series. A timer turns on the pump, and water
(nutrient solution) is pumped through tubing from the reservoir up into the main part
of the system using a submersible fountain/pond pump. The nutrient solution
continues to fill (flood) the system until it reaches the height of the preset overflow
tube so that it soaks the plants roots. The overflow tube should be set to about 2
inches below the top of the growing media.
When the water filling/flooding the system reaches the overflow tube height, it drains
back down to the reservoir where it recirculates back through the system again. The
overflow tube sets the water level height in the flood and drain system, as well as
makes sure the water (nutrient solution) doesn't spill out the top of the system while
the pump is on. When the pump shuts off, the water siphons back down into the
reservoir through the pump (draining the system).

N.F.T
The N.F.T. system (Nutrient Film Technique) is quite popular with home hydroponic growers as
well. Mainly because of it's fairly simple design. However N.F.T. systems are best suited for,
and most commonly used for growing smaller quick growing plants like different types of
lettuce. Along with growing lettuce, some commercial growers also grow different types of
herbs and baby greens using N.F.T. systems.
While there are a lot of different ways design an N.F.T. system, they all have the same
characteristic of a
very shallow nutrient solutioncascading downward through the tubing. Where the bare roots
of the plants come in contact with the water, and can absorb the nutrients from it. The major
downside to an N.F.T. systems is that the plants are very sensitive to interruptions in the flow
of water from power outages (or whatever reason). The plants will begin to wilt very quickly
any time the water stops flowing through the system.

Water Culture System

Water Culture systems are about the simplest of all six types of hydroponic systems.
While technically simple, they are still very effective for growing plants hydroponiclly.
Not only do alot of home hydroponic growers really like using water culture systems,

but many commercial growers use this type of system on a large scale as well. Mainly
because the water culture systems is a simple and easy concept. It's also a very
inexpensive type of system to build, and another reason why it's popular with home
growers as well. Even though the concept is simple, there are plenty of imaginative
ways to use and build water culture systems out of different materials.

Wick System
The wick system is the simplest of all six types of hydroponic systems. That's because
traditionally it doesn't have any moving parts, thus it doesn't use any pumps or electricity.
However some people still like using an optional air pump in the reservoir. Because it doesn't
need electricity to work, it's also quite useful in places where electricity cant be uses, or is
unreliable.
The wick system is an easy type of system to build when first learning about hydroponics,
and/or you just your want to get your feet wet first. This type of hydroponic system is also
often used by teachers in classrooms as experiments for kids. Both to help explain how plants
grow, as well as getting them interested in hydroponics

Nutrient solutions
Plant nutrients used in hydroponics are dissolved in the water and are mostly in
inorganic and ionic form. Primary among the dissolved cations (positively charged

ions) are Ca2+ (calcium), Mg2+

(magnesium), and K+
(potassium); the major nutrient anions in nutrient solutions
are NO3 (nitrate), SO24 (sulfate),
and H2PO4(dihydrogen phosphate).
Numerous 'recipes' for hydroponic solutions are available. Many use different
combinations of chemicals to reach similar total final compositions. Commonly used
chemicals for the macronutrients include potassium nitrate, calcium nitrate,
potassium phosphate, and magnesium sulfate. Various micronutrients are typically
added to hydroponic solutions to supply essential elements; among them are Fe (iron),
Mn (manganese), Cu (copper), Zn (zinc), B (boron), Cl (chlorine), and Ni
(nickel).Chelating agents are sometimes used to keep Fe soluble, and humic acids can
be added to increase nutrient uptake.[20] Many variations of the nutrient solutions used
by Arnon and Hoagland (see above) have been styled 'modified Hoagland solutions'
and are widely used. Variation of different mixes throughout the plant life-cycle,
further optimizes its nutritional value.[21] Plants will change the composition of the
nutrient solutions upon contact by depleting specific nutrients more rapidly than
others, removing water from the solution, and altering the pH by excretion of either
acidity or alkalinity.[22] Care is required not to allow salt concentrations to become too
high, nutrients to become too depleted, or pH to wander far from the desired value.
Organic hydroponics uses the solution containing microorganisms. In organic
hydroponics, organic fertilizer can be added in the hydroponic solution because
microorganisms degrade organic fertilizer into inorganic nutrients. In contrast,
conventional hydroponics cannot use organic fertilizer because organic compounds in
the hydroponic solution show phytotoxic effects.

Hydroponic System Only Need a Few Basic Parts to Build

Growing Chamber (or tray),

The growing chamber is the part of the hydroponic system where the plants roots will
be growing. Simply put, the growing chamber is the container for the root zone. This
area provides plant support, as well as is where the roots access the nutrient solution.
It also protects the roots from light, heat, and pests. It's important to keep the root
zone cool and light proof. Prolonged light will damage the roots, and high temps in the
root zone will cause heat stress to your plants, as well as fruit and flower drop as a
result of heat stress.
The size and shape of the growing chamber really just depends on the type of
hydroponic system your building, as well as the type of plants you'll be growing in it.
Bigger plants have bigger root systems, and need more space to hold them in. The
designs here are endless. Almost anything can be used as the growing chamber, you
just don't want to use anything made of metal or it could corrode or react with the
nutrients. If you look around you'll get lots of ideas of what and how you can easily
use many different things for building the growing chamber of your hydroponic
system.
Reservoir,
The reservoir is the part of the hydroponic system that holds the nutrient solution. The
nutrient solution consists of plant nutrients that are mixed in water. Depending on the
type of hydroponic system, the nutrient solution can be pumped from the reservoir up
to the growing chamber (root zone) in cycles using a timer, as well as continually
without a timer, or the roots can even hang down into the reservoir 24/7, making the
reservoir the growing chamber also.
You can make a reservoir out of just about anything plastic that holds water. As long
as it doesn't leak, holds enough water, and is cleaned out well first it can be used as
reservoir. Read this article for more about how big your nutrient reservoir should be. A
reservoir also needs to be light proof. If you can hold it over your head and see light
coming through it, it's not light proof. But it's easy to make any container light proof
by painting it, covering it, or wrapping something like bubble wrap insulation around
it. Algae and microorganisms can begin growing with even low light levels.
Submersible Pump,
Most hydroponic systems use a submersible pump to pump the water (nutrient
solution) from the reservoir up to the growing chamber/root zone for the plants.
Submersible pumps can easily be found at hydropnic supply shop, or most home
improvement stores with garden supplies as fountain and/or pond pumps. They will
also come in a wide variety of sizes. Read this page for how to decide what size pump
you need for your hydroponic system?
The submersible pumps are basically nothing more than an impeller that uses a
electromagnet to spin it. They can also easily be taken all apart to be cleaned
thoroughly. If it doesn't come with a filter, you can easily make one by cutting a piece
of furnace filter screen or similar material to fit. You should clean both the pump and
filter regularly to keep them clean.
Delivery system,
A hydroponic systems water/nutrient solution delivery system is really quite simple, as
well as extremely customizable when building your own hydro systems. Besides the
pump, it's really nothing more than just the pluming the water/nutrient solution goes
through to get to the plants roots in the growing chamber, and back to the reservoir
again. Typically the simplest and best materials to use for the nutrient delivery system
are a combination of standard PVC tubing and connectors, standard garden irrigation
tubing and connectors, as well as blue or black vinyl tubing.
Depending on the type of hydroponic system you build, you may want to use drip

emitters or sprayers as part of your nutrient solution delivery system. While they can
be useful, they also can clog. So if you do, make sure you have extras you can quickly
swap out while you clean the clogged ones. We try to avoid using emitters because
they do clog, as well as cost extra money.
Simple Timer,
Depending on the type of hydroponic system you build, and where you place the
system to grow your plants. You may need one or two simple timers. If you use
artificial lighting to grow the plants instead of natural sunlight, you'll want a timer to
control the on/off times for the lighting system. For flood and drain, drip, and
aeroponic systems you'll need a timer to control the on/off times for the submersible
water pump. Some types of aeroponic systems may need a special timer. Visit
the aeroponic systems page to find out more about the types of aeroponic systems,
and timers for them.
Air Pump,
Other than in water culture systems, air pumps are optional in hydroponic systems.
But using them has benefits, and air pumps are relatively inexpensive. Air pumps can
be found anywhere they sell aquarium supplies. Air pumps simply just supply air and
oxygen to the water and roots. Air is pumped through an air line to air stones that
create a bunch of small bubbles that rise up through the nutrient solution.
In water culture systems the air pump helps keep the plants roots from suffocating
while their submerged in the nutrient solution 24/7. For any other type of hydroponic
system, the air pump is typically used in the reservoir. It helps to increase dissolved
oxygen levels in the water up and keep the water oxygenated. Visit this page for more
about dissolved oxygen levels.
Other advantage's of using air pumps are that as the air bubbles rise, they keep the
water and nutrients moving and circulating, this keeps the nutrients evenly mixed all
the time. The circulating oxygenated water also helps reduce pathogens from gaining
a foothold in the reservoir.
Grow Lights,
Grow lights are an optional part of hydroponic systems. Depending on where you plan
to put your hydroponic system, and grow your plants. You could choose to either use
natural sunlight, or artificial light to grow your plants with. If you can make use of it
we prefer natural sunlight, it's is free and doesn't require any extra equipment.
However if there just isn't enough natural sunlight where you put your hydroponic
system, or at that time of year, you'll need to use at least some artificial light to grow
your plants.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Hydroponics!

Like technology, gardening sector is also changing. People are now switching to soil
less gardening technique, popularly known as Hydroponics. If you have ever kept a
plant clipping in a glass of water, expecting it will generate roots, then you have
practiced hydroponics. Its an example of organic gardening, in which plants are
grown in nutrient solution, instead of soil.
By practicing hydroponic gardening, gardeners dont have to worry about weeding,
soil borne diseases, when to fertilize, spraying pesticides, labors of cultivation, tilling,
soil texture, and more. It offers an easy way of growing fruits and vegetables that are
healthier and have more nutritive value. With hydroponic gardening you can expect
big, better results in short span of time, as nutrients are dissolved in water and
directly fed to roots.
Hydroponic gardens are simple to maintain both indoors and outdoors. You can relish
fresh, home-grown fruits and vegetables that will bring you happiness and peace of
mind while saving some money. Read more to explore other advantages and some
disadvantages of hydroponics:

Advantages of Hydroponic Gardening:

Through hydroponic gardening; plants can be grown anywhere as long as their

growth requirements are met.

It uses only 1/20th of water compared to traditional (soil based) gardening.

It provides a sterile environment for plant production. This technique does not
require pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals, as theres no chance of
damage due to soil-borne diseases or pests.

Crops grow two times faster in hydroponic gardening. It provides controlled

environment, and yield is doubled leading to more production from same
amount of space.

It needs 20% of less space in comparison to soil based gardens, as plants with
small roots can be grown closer to each other.

Run-off in traditional gardening can lead to environment degradation due to

high proportion of calcium, phosphorous and potassium content dissolved in it.
But in hydroponic systems; water can be reused multiple times leading to water
conservation with less expense incurred on it.

Theres no-doubt in the fact that hydroponics involves less labor. Upkeep is also
minimal.

Its simple to get complete control over nutrient balance by using solutions
like Olivias Growing Solution.

There are no soil setup and testing hassles.

Plants grown through this technique are healthy and have better nutritional
value. It has been proved that vitamin content is 50% more in hydroponically
grown plants as compared to conventional ones.

It is easy to harvest in this type of gardening.

There are no worries about the changing seasons, as crops can be grown all
year round.

Hydroponic gardening is amazingly stress-relieving and a relaxing hobby.

Moreover it is a great way to spend quality family time.

Disadvantages of Hydroponic Gardening:

Initial set up cost of hydroponic system is high. It requires constant supervision.

These gardens can also become susceptible to power outage; in this case plants
will dry out. If this ever happens, you have to manually water your garden.

Water-based microorganism can be easily introduced.

Technical knowledge is required for growing plants through hydroponics.

There are numerous benefits of hydroponic gardening. Its practice can yield excellent
results in short span of time with proper knowledge and techniques. Various

environmental concerns, reduction in arable land, and scarcity of water can be easily
conquered with the use of hydroponics. It is extremely beneficial for commercial
farmers and home gardeners alike.

More about Hydroponics

Why Hydroponics?
Imagine growing a vegetable garden without having to fight the soil. No more worries
about too much water; or too little water; or how much fertilizer; or when to fertilize;
or the labors of cultivating and weeding to provide just the right soil consistency and

texture; and how much space to give each plant to avoid competing for food and
water; etc.
There are many advantages of growing plants hydroponically;
1. Hydroponic gardens produce the healthiest crops with high yields and are
consistently reliable
2. Gardening is clean and extremely easy, requiring very little effort
3. Due to nutrients fed directly to the roots, plants grow faster and with small roots
plants may be grown closer. In general hydroponically grown garden needs 1/5
of the overall space when compared with soil gardens
4. Hydroponically grown plants do not come in contact with soil borne pests and
diseases thus saves costs of soil preparation, insecticides, fungicides
5. Since the amount of nutrient solution is fed directly to the plant roots, there is
no wastage of water due to run off or evaporation
Overall, the main advantages of hydroponics over soil culture are - more effectient
nutrition regulation, availability in regions of the world having nonarable land,
effecient use of water and fertilizers, ease and low cost of sterilization of the medium,
and higher density planting, leading to increased yields per acre.

Is hydroponics sustainable?
The hydroponic re-circulating system is cleaner than conventional agriculture because
it requires only the amount of nutrients which will be taken up by the plants, and
these remain contained in the system until they are completely used up. In general
the main problem with using artificial nutrients in soil is not what the plants use but
what they don't use - as much as 90% of the more soluble nutrients can be leached
out of the soil by rainfall or irrigation before the plants have a chance to use them.
This leachate ends up in the ground water and contaminates rivers and lakes leading
to algal blooms, deoxygenation and ultimately is fatal to fish and other animals. Also,
salts can build up in ground water reserves making them too saline to use for
drinking. In a closed recirculating system such as hydroponics, the nutrients are
conserved in the tank and there are no losses to the environment. Virtually all the
nutrients in the system get used up by the plants which also means that the nutrients
are used more efficiently: hydroponics uses far fewer nutrients overall than a normally
fertilised crop in soil.
At the Achiltibuie Garden we have decided to use renewable energy to power the
pumps needed to circulate the water and nutrients to the plants in our keder growing
house. We have a "solar panel trailer", infact the very same one which was recently
featured on "Monty Hall's Great Escape", to charge batteries to power the pumps. We
are also harvesting rainwater to supply our hydroponic systems and to water our

raised growing beds and outdoor garden during dry spells.

The cost of road transport, both financial and environmental, can be very high in
remote areas such as our location in Wester Ross. Growing crops using hydroponics
for local distribution is helping to reduce the amount of food that has to be
transported into the area. On a wider scale, there is often an enormous
environmental cost involved in getting food products from the grower across the world
to the end user due to the large amounts of fuel needed. Producing food locally using
hydroponics may be more sustainable than relying on imported produce.
With consumers now becoming increasingly aware of how the food they buy is
produced, along with their concerns for the rising costs in both financial and
environmental terms, many are "growing their own". Hydroponics provides them with
the opportunity to grow fresh, flavoursome and healthy produce whatever space they
have available - from a windowsill to a greenhouse.

Will I get higher yields?

Hydroponically-grown plants grow more quickly than soil-grown plants because they
have food and water available to them all the time. This means they don't need a
large root system to find nutrients and water and can devote more energy to
producing their crop which results in the plant maturing more quickly. Also, in a
hydroponic system the plants can be grown closer together than they can in soil,
giving a higher cropping density.
Some examples of fruit and vegetables we have grown that have been "heavy
croppers" are: tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, chillies, courgettes, beans, cape
gooseberry and raspberries. Visitors to the Hydroponicum were amazed at the quality
and quantity of the yields from our plants growing in different hydroponic systems.
Although many of us are keen to know about edible yields, we must not forget that
ornamentals which also thrive in hydroponic systems. Self wateringhanging
baskets are one of Achilitibuie Garden's most
popular kits with our customers. A combination of the Gold growing medium, the built
in water reservoir and easy to use feed granules make these baskets so simple to
use and get spectacular results.

Is there much manual labour involved with

hydroponics?
No. One of the advantages of hydroponic growing is that no heavy digging or
weeding is required. Due to it's adaptability it is possible to set hydroponic systems
up at heights which are comfortable to work at, making it an ideal growing method for
people who are not able to stand or bend for periods of time.

The range of hydroponic growing kits, available online from The Achiltibuie Garden,
are suitable for positioning at whatever height is most comfortable for the grower. Due
to the compact nature of the trough kits, such as the salad & herb kit, it is possible
to use them on windowsills. Gold growing medium is a pleasant and clean medium to
use and requires no weeding!

Is it organic?
This is a question were were asked a lot at the old hydroponicum and continues to be
asked at The Achiltibuie Garden.
The organic / hydroponics question is a fascinating area. The bottom line is that the
nutrients used for hydroponics are manufactured from inorganic chemicals, aiming to
mimic what the plants would take out of the soil. In conventional growing, plants live
on inorganic chemicals which they obtain from the processes that go on in the soil:
they dissolve salts from the rock/mineral content of the soil and from the breakdown
of organic matter by bacteria and fungi. These are all inorganic substances and can be
replicated in a solution which gives the plants the same nutrients which would be
obtained from soil.
At present there is no organic standard for hydroponic growing. Certain aspects of
agriculture which are assessed when awarding organic status, like maintaining soil
fertility or controlling weeds in an approved manner, do not apply to hydroponics.
Hydroponic growers do not maintain the soil - they leave it alone, and they do not
control weeds because there are none!

Who uses Hydroponics?

In 2001 it was estimated that 1% of the world's food is grown using hydroponics. Most
commercial crops of tomatoes and many other greenhouse crops are grown
hydroponically. Commercial growers use hydroponics because it gives bigger crops
for less work. With no soil to cultivate there are no weeds and fewer disease and pest
problems. There is also less waste of water and nutrients because these are
continuously recycled. All these factors help to reduce the costs of growing food crops
commercially.
Water conservation makes hydroponics a very important method of agriculture for arid
climates, enabling people to grow crops in difficult places like the Middle East,
Australia and Africa. It is easy to see that a grower in a part of the world where
transport of fertilisers is difficult finds hydroponics a good option.
In space, NASA is able to provide all the nutritional needs of a human being from 30
square metres of growing space and this is the basis of plans for self-sustaining space
stations and colonising other planets. In the Antarctic, research stations provide fresh
produce throughout the dark winters using hydroponics with growing lights powered
by wind energy.

More recently there has been an increase in hydroponic growing by amateur

gardeners, enthusiasts and people looking for a more sustainable and environmentally
friendly way of growing. With ever increasing costs of foods many realise not only the
financial but health benefits of growing your own produce. Hydroponic growing makes
growing your own produce accessable to anyone whatever space they have available,
whether it be a polytunnel, conservatory, windowsill, balcony...

Future of Hydroponics
Hydroponics is a relatively new technology, evolving rapidly since its inception 70
years ago. From its origins in academic research, to its utilization in industry and
government, hydroponics has found many new applications. It is a versatile
technology, appropriate for both developing countries and high-tech space stations.
Hydroponic technology can efficiently generate food crops from barren desert sand
and desalinated ocean water, in mountainous regions too steep to farm, on city
rooftops and concrete schoolyards and in arctic communities. In highly populated
tourist areas where skyrocketing land prices have driven out traditional agriculture,
hydroponics can provide locally grown high-value specialty crops such as fresh salad
greens, herbs and cut flowers.
Like manufacturing, agriculture tends to move toward higher-technology, more
capital-intensive solutions to problems. Hydroponics is highly productive and suitable
for automation. However, the future growth of controlled environment agriculture and
hydroponics depends greatly on the development of systems of production that are
cost-competitive with those of open field agriculture. Improvements in associated
technologies such as artificial lighting and agricultural plastics, and new cultivars with
better pest and disease resistance will increase crop yields and reduce unit costs of
production. Cogeneration projects, where hydroponic greenhouses utilize waste heat
from industry and power plants, are already a reality and could expand in the next few
years. Geothermal heat could support large expanses of greenhouses in appropriate
locations.
It has been proposed that glasshouses located in deserts of the world could one day
serve a dual purpose, where antenna could be embedded into the glass to receive
energy radiation from an array of energy collectors in space, while at the same time
facilitate hydroponic tomato production.
The economic prospects for controlled environmental agriculture and hydroponics
may improve if governmental bodies determined that there are politically desirable
effects of hydroponics that merit subsidy for the public good. Such beneficial effects
may include the conservation of water in regions of scarcity or food production in
hostile environments; governmental support for these reasons has occurred in the

Middle East. Another desirable societal effect could be the provision of incomeproducing employment for chronically disadvantaged segments of the population
entrapped in economically depressed regions; such employment produces tax
revenues as well as personal incomes, reducing the impact on welfare rolls and
improving the quality of life.
Hydroponics is a technical reality. Such production systems are producing horticultural
crops where field-grown fresh vegetables and ornamentals are unavailable for much of
the year. The development and use of controlled environment agriculture and
hydroponics have enhanced the economic well being of many communities
throughout the world.

Soil grown

Hydroponically grown

BIBLIOGRAPHY
To make this research project I had used the following
sources:

NCERT Biology text book of class XI.

GOOGLE search engine.
GOOGLE images.
Wikipedia.
Different websites.
MS word, etc.