Hydroponic growing leads to tastier vegetables

Growing vegetables hydroponically leads to a more expensive, but tastier veggie, cumberlink.com reports.

Tomatoes are the king crop in hydroponics because of the demand for them in early spring and late fall when field tomatoes aren't available. The challenge is to sell them at $2.99 per pound when field tomatoes are going for 99 cents, says Mark Toigo, 42, who has run hydroponic greenhouses for the last 15 years, among other duties, at the family-owned Toigo Orchards in Southampton Township, Cumberland County. Hydroponic grower Barb Rose, 52, co-owner of Beck-n-Rose of North Middleton Township, agrees with Toigo. She also developed a niche market in the last three years --- a few chefs at "better restaurants who care what tomatoes look and taste like," Rose says. She counts among her customers Fetter Brookside Market south of Carlisle, Mountain Lakes west of Carlisle, Oak Grove Farms of Mechanicsburg and the Butcher Shop in Chambersburg. For next season, all Beck-n-Rose produce is committed to current customers, says Rose, a former marketing manager for a start-up software company that sold last year for $40 million. "You do need to be a manager and a marketer" to be profitable, Toigo says, raising his voice above the half-dozen four-foot-wide fans that ventilate his 90- by 130-foot greenhouse off South Mountain Estates Road. He steps over piles of vines on the concrete greenhouse floor, the result of cropping the tops off tomato plants that have the last of the crop ripening on the vines. He will plant new tomato vines again in January for harvest beginning in April. Although growers would like to produce tomatoes through the winter, year-round tomato production isn't feasible this far north. They say it doesn't have the flavor of food grown in soil," says Brubeck, who sells mostly to restaurants and to some grocery stores in Cumberland, Dauphin and Lebanon counties.

Original source:
http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2005/08/07/business/busi01.txt

Indian family makes a breakthrough in hydroponics

by Mike Adams

Hydroponics, the practice of growing plants in water instead of soil, received a giant lift from a New Delhi family that created a purely organic nutrient mix that has sustained tomatoes and Arjun.

Original source:
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu5&leftindx=5&lselect=2&chklogin=N&autono=202585

Details

An Indian hobbyist has created a purely organic nutrient mixture for growing plants in water. Although it is still an evolving science, hydroponic agriculture (growing plants in water solution rather than soil) is spreading fast the world over. The nutritional requirement of the plants in this system of soilless farming is met by the nutrient mixtures, called hydroponics fertiliser mixtures, added to the water in which the plant roots are kept submerged. These mixtures are made of chemical plant nutrients. A breakthrough has now been achieved by an Indian hydroponics hobbyist in creating a purely organic nutrient mixture for growing plants in water. This wholly chemical-free plant growth solution has been tested successfully for growing several plants, including common vegetables like tomato and arbi and some high value medicinal plants like Brahmi, Arjun and Cineraria. Indeed, a good deal of research is underway in this system of soilless farming in the US and Europe but not much headway has been made anywhere in organic hydroponics. Of course, some hydroponics enthusiasts abroad have been experimenting with various kinds of organic manures and mixtures of plants, but successful and commercially viable organic hydroponics models are still not available. His daughter, Shweta Singh, a Delhi University botany student, has been assisting him in discovering and further improving the biofertiliser mixture for growing plants in ordinary water. “I will work on it for a couple of years more before thinking of launching commercial production of this bio-fertiliser for hydroponics. However, if some government organisation, such as the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), comes forward, I am willing to cooperate with it in promoting organic hydroponics in India,” he says. He believes that nearly 200 commercially important plants can be grown by hydroponics technique.

Source: Article taken from Natural News, only for information purpose

Hydroponic farming to help achieve Agri targets

Pakistan can enhance vegetable and fruit crops yield with hydroponic farming technology to overcome the food shortages and price hike tendency. This technology would not only raise yield but also enhance nutrition abilities of plants. Hydroponics can be a futuristic technology for Pakistan to ensure proper supply of vegetable and fruits crops as it uses 70 percent to 90 percent less water than irrigated soil based agriculture. No water was lost in the ground or absorbed by weeds or lost in evaporation, officials in Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) said. A website relating to agri news reported that a hydroponic pilot project has already been launched in Rawat (Islamabad) under the name bio-blitz over just five acres of land. The state-of-the- art five-acre Green House facility is producing hydroponic tomatoes of all varieties including tangy, elegant, cherry and others. If hydroponics farming technology is introduced properly, then country can triple the revenues earned on agriculture exports and the country could be a huge power player in the market because nobody else in the region is using high-tech hydroponics. The officials said in the pilot project, a Dutch hydoponic expert was working with the team training Pakistani staff on how to run a hydroponic greenhouse. According to them, a high tech hydroponic facility was more expensive to set up than soil farming but once it is set up, operating and maintenance costs were low and the very high and definite yields means that invested money would be recovered in one year.

Countries, which were world leaders in hydroponics employ what was called a 'cluster approach where land is allocated just for hydroponic farming practiced by different farmers. To develop a viable hydroponics industry, Pakistan desperately needs to improve its infrastructure facilities, such as availability of electricity and land. Greenhouses need a constant supply of power but the situation in Pakistan is not encouraging, they added. Agriculture scientists said there are two main types of hydroponics culture, namely solution culture and medium culture. The solution culture excludes roots as source of nutrition, while the medium culture is based on roots as part of the process. The solution culture method is further divided into three types - static solution culture, continuous flow solution culture, and aeroponics. The medium culture, on the other hand, is based on medium through which the root is routed - sand culture, gravel culture or rock wool culture. These media of nutrition are again sub-divided into two categories - sub-irrigation and top irrigation. In all these techniques, mostly plastic is used for hydroponic reservoirs, though other materials have also been used, which include concrete, glass, metal, vegetable solids and wood. Experts advised that the containers should block light to prevent algae growth in the nutrient solution. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants, using mineral nutrient solutions without soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel, or mineral wool. This technology was discovered in the 19th century. In this technology plants absorb essential mineral nutrients as inorganic ions in water. In natural conditions, soil acts as a mineral nutrient reservoir, but the soil itself is not essential to plant growth. Hydroponics is also a standard technique in biology research and teaching. Researchers have obtained groundbreaking results in various countries, however the process has proved it to be thoroughly practical, having an edge over conventional methods of horticulture. Talking about the benefits of the technology, the officials said it saves water, freedom from soil diseases and weeds and less labour needed and cost effective. Scientists agreed that hydroponics fruits and vegetables are sweeter and more luscious than those grown in ordinary soil are. The technology is being utilised around the globe, including the US, European Union (EU) and African countries. Repeated pricing studies have shown that only high-quality garden type vegetables like tomato, cucumber, potato, sweet peppers, melon, and specialty lettuce can cover costs or give a return in hydroponics systems. As the consumer becomes increasingly aware of quality differences, especially the high quality of tomatoes, cucumbers, and leafy vegetables coming from hydroponics, the demand will increase. This, along with the increased emphasis on eating more vegetables for dietary and health reasons, will surely help the hydroponics industry.

Source: http://www.nation.com.pk

Hydroponic Farming: Pakistan Future

Asad Manzoor*

Department of Agriculture & Agribusiness Management, University of Karachi

To defeat food shortages in the upcoming era, Pakistan can use hydroponic farming to overcome crises of food shortage. Hydroponics can be a revolutionary technology for Pakistan to guarantee suitable and sustainable supply of vegetable. It reduces 70 percent to 90 percent less water and reduce cultivated area than irrigated soil and land based agriculture farming and gardening. No water was lost in the ground or absorbed by weeds or lost in evaporation.
With the collaboration of government and private sector, a hydroponic pilot project can be started across the country. The establishment of state-of-the-art greenhouse facility can produce hydroponic tomatoes of all varieties including tangy, elegant, cherry and others. If the hydroponic technology is properly deployed, the country could be a huge power player in the market because nobody else in the region is using high-tech hydroponics.

A high tech hydroponic facility is more expensive to set up than soil farming but once it is set up, operating and maintenance costs were low and the very high and definite yields means that invested money would be recovered in one year.
The world leader’s countries in hydroponics utilize ‘cluster approach’ where land is allocated just for hydroponic farming practiced by different farmers. To develop a viable hydroponics industry, Pakistan urgently needs to improve its infrastructure facilities, such as availability of electricity and land. Greenhouses need a constant supply of power but the situation in Pakistan is not encouraging. By improving electricity facilities and establishing green house a fine chain of hydroponics farm can develop.
With more than 16 million populations, Pakistan needed to boost its agriculture performance, which was low and unpredictable compared to other major agriculture producers. If hydroponics is introduced properly, the country can triple the revenues earned on agriculture exports. The new technology also has a great potential to meet our food requirement.

*Contact: asad@gardener.com