Nutrients. gidroponika and a method of a nutritious film

you are: Nutrients

Once gidroponiku (cultivation of plants on a nutritious solution) offered as a method of the decision of agricultural and gardening problems in zones where there are no good soils; however in the past since then years of hope of this method have not justified. Though gidroponika it is effective in laboratory or an experimental hothouse, to carry out it in commercial scales more difficultly - basically because intensive aeration of roots is necessary for good growth; besides, in a solution the support is necessary for plants. Nevertheless the way which has appeared rather effective in intensive gardening as provided very fast growth of plants and the big crops has been developed. It has been named by a method of a nutritious film, and in the close future, apparently, it is possible to expect its wide practical use.

The Essence of this method consists basically in cultivation of plants with the roots shipped on small depth in a flowing nutritious solution (fig. 14.2).

By a bending of edges of long strips of black polyethylene sheet are made long a trench. Them establish with. A small inclination so a nutritious solution, arriving from one end, flows down downwards on a trench in the tank located at its bottom end. from here the solution is pumped out by the top end of a trench, and thus the solution all time circulates. Plants place in the top crack of a trench in vessels with not the soil environment (peat with perlitom) and apertures in a bottom or in blocks of any material like poliuretanovogo polyfoam through which roots can get. Roots sprout from the vessels or supporting blocks in a layer of a nutritious solution. as the liquid layer is very thin and continuously flows, it contains enough of oxygen for roots. In these conditions there is very fast growth. As plants never suffer from shortage of water, they grow continuously. Acidity of a nutritious solution (rn 6-7) and a quantity of water and nutrients can be defined and corrected an optimum. in large-scale commercial systems it is made continuously by the automatic control; measuring devices are connected to the device for automatic addition as required waters, a nutritious solution or phosphoric acid (for decrease rn).

As the solution of nutrients flows on the closed plastic flutes, water loss here is excluded; therefore the system can be used in arid zones. Now it is applied mainly in hothouses or nurseries; this method is especially valuable to use in nursery as plants for sale can be taken easily from a substratum, without damaging roots. In the future at increase in cost of transport this system can be used in a combination to artificial illumination for cultivation of plants in the winter in high widths. Such system allows to get rid completely of wreckers and illnesses that excludes necessity expensive (and sometimes and dangerous) pest control. However necessity of expenses for illumination and heating would be a considerable lack of such system.