Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Kealakehe Chapter
Hydroponics
Deep Flow Technique
In this system the nutrient solution is allowed to flow 2-3 cm
below in a PVC pipe of 10 cm diameter. The solution is
passing through perforated plastic cups with the seedlings
grown on growing media. The bottom of the cups touches
the nutrient solution running in the pipe.
The tube length is 5-10 m with a slope of 1/50-1/75. the
nutrient solution is pumped at the rate of 2-3 liters/minute.
Support should be provided to tall plants
Hydroponics
Closed systems (cont)
►The growing medium can be pitmus or rockwool.
A plastic net can be used to prevent the growing medium
from falling into the nutrient solution
► when the nutrient solution is circulated it is saturated with
oxygen. The pipes should have aslope of 1 cm for every
30-40 cm pipe to facilitate the movement of the solution
►Pipes can be painted white to reduce heat
Hydroponics
Open Systems
►The system pumps the nutrient solution through the root system
and the excess solution is discarded.
Several techniques are available:
1. Root dipping technique
in this method the plants are grown in small pots filled with a
growing medium and placed such that 2-3 cm of it are
immersed in the nutrient solution and the rest is in air above
the solution to absorb Oxygen, this method is simple and
cheap.
hydroponics
Floating Technique
►This method is similar to the root dipping
technique, except that here shallow containers are
used (10 cm deep). Plants are placed in holes
made in Styrofoam or similar material. The board
is allowed to float on the nutrient solution.
Oxygen is supplied artificially.
Hydroponics
Capillary Action technique
►plants are grown on a mixture of a growing
medium and sand in pots placed on the
nutrient medium. Aeration is very important
in this method.
Good for ornamental and house plants
Substrates
Solid Substrates
In this technique solid growing media are used like
Vermiculite, saw dust, sand, rockwool,…etc
However, the substance used should be:
- Inert. Does not react with the nutrient elements and have
neutral PH.
- With good porosity to allow drainage and aeration
- Free from toxic materials, pests and diseases
Specifications of solid substrates
- Easy to use
- Cheap
- Allow several uses and easy to dispose off
- Should be sterilized before use
Trench Technique
In this technique plants are grown in a narrow
trench made in the soil or a brick or cement made
trench.
The trench should be made with a 1cm slope for
every 50-75 cm towards the center of the house
where the nutrient tank is located.
The trench should be 15 m long. A wide trench
will allow planting 2 rows of plants
Depth of trench depends on plant type, 30 cm
minimum
Trench cont
These are solutions containing all the nutrient elements necessary for
plant growth and are used for irrigation of hydroponics
► There is no ideal solution for all crops.
►The water used for making the nutrient solution should be free from
salts as much as possible (EC< 0.6 ds/m) and Na concentration <
50ppm)
Onions 77 39 39 28
Beans 88 55 22 16
Peas 77 53 - -
Radish 91 68 54 38
Nutrient Solutions
Essential elements
Carbon, Oxygen and Hydrogen
■ They form the skeleton of organic mater
(carbohydrates, proteins…etc).
Plants get C from CO2 in the atmosphere. CO2 in
the atmosphere is 0.03%
■ Plants get H2 from irrigation water and O2 from
CO2
Photosynthesis: 6CO2 + 6H2O in the presence of
light and chlorophyll will yield carbohydrates
(C6H12O6) + 6O2
The Essential Elements
S - 1.3 - 48 to 224
Micro elements
Deficient Adequate Toxic range in
nutrient
solutions
Mn 0.55 to 71 0.55 to 2.3 16.5 to 3.85 110 to 550
Cu 0.653 1.26 - 0 to 10
Essential elements
■ Nitrogen
Concentration in plants 2 to 5 % of dry weight.
- Proteins
- Chlorophyll
- Hormones
N deficiency
Yellowing of the middle of the leaf in monocots
Yellowing of whole leaf in dicots
Reduced growth
Lower leaves first (mobile element)
Nitrogen
N excess
As bad as N deficiency
- Dark green color
- Fast rate of growth
- Few flowers and fruits
- Greater sensitivity to changing environmental changes
- Reduced fruit quality
- Forms of Utilization
- NO3- and NH4+
- NO3 is better absorbed in acid media
- NH4 is better absorbed in alkaline media
- Equal uptake at PH 6.8
- Toxicity (with heavy use of NH4+ fertilizers)
► N can be lost from the soil by deep percolation
(NO3-) and denitrification
►NH4 is adsorbed by clay, transformed to NO3 by
micro organisms and lost
Concentration in NS
N fixation
● Rhizobia spp (root bacteria) fix atmospheric N in Legumes.
● In the field, legumes should be inoculated by the proper
strain of Rhizobia
● Some bacteria can mineralize organic N, like Azotobacter,
Colostridium.
Important Sources
Ca(NO3).4H2O; KNO3; HNO3 For NO3-N
NHNO3 For both sources
(NH4)2SO4; NH4H2PO4 for NH4-N
Urea is not recommended as N source in
hydroponic formulations as its hydrolysis
produces NH4
Phosphorus
Importance
Content in plants 0.2 to 0.5% of dry matter.
- Nucleic acids (ATP. ADP, RNA) (Energy transfer)
- Enzymes
- Lipids
P deficiency (on older leaves)
- Dark purple color on leaves in monocots
- Dark red color on the veins in dicots
- Slow growth
- Few flowers and fruits
Phosphorus
Excess P
Mostly indirect effect
Fe, Mn and Zn deficiency
Early maturity
Uptake
H2PO4- (dihydrogen phosphate, (PH 5.5-6.5)
HPO4 (monohydrogen phosphate)
PO4--- (phosphate)
Potassium
► Most element absorbed by plants (luxury
consumption)
Plants contain 1.25 to 3.0 K (dry wt bases). Some plants
contain more e.g. bananas. Fruiting plants like tomato
cucumber and pepper require more K other crops
Uptake high during vegetative stage and decline at
fruiting stage
Importance
- Nucleic acids synthesis
- Enzyme activation
- Cell division
- Water uptake
- Stomatal function
Potassium
Deficiency
● Reduced turgor (wilt easy)
● Yellowing of leaf margins (old leaves, mobile
element)
● Leaf scorch (burning)
● Uneven maturity
● Slow growth
Balance among cations
Importance
- Content in plants 0.5 to 3.0% (DWB)
- Cell wall
Deficiency appear on young leaves first.
- Yellow green color, brown or black leaf tip
- Poor leaf expansion, brown roots
- Blossom end rot
● Most available in soils (PH>7)
Ca
Example 5
Calculate the amount of Ca(NO3)2 to be added to a
nutrient solution to get 200ppm of Ca, if the
fertilizer used is 90% pure?
(i.e. we want 200 ppm Ca in every liter of water)
Solution
1. In every 164 mg Ca(NO3)2 there are 40 mg Ca
(164 is the MW of Ca(NO3)2)
MW of Ca(NO3)2 = 40+2x14+6x16 = 164
2. In X mg Ca(NO3)2 we have:
164 X 200/40 = 820 Ca(NO3)2
►If we dissolve 820 mg Ca(NO3)2 in one liter of
water we get 200 ppm Ca.
Solution (cont)