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Similar to aquaculture, hydroponics can ensure the sustainability of agriculture while simultaneously reducing the detrimental effects of current agricultural methods on the environment. By definition, hydroponics is a class of techniques used for growing plants in a soilless medium. All hydroponic methods involve a water and nutrient solution being directly sprayed or applied to the root system of plants. This allows farmers to precisely control the environment in which plants are grown, specifically its water, chemical, and light requirements. Because of this, hydroponics uses significantly less water and fewer chemicals than traditional crop farming. Due to the nature of hydroponics, the roots of plants do not need to actively search for nutrients and hence do not grow to be as large as those in soil agriculture. This allows for more plants to be grown in a smaller area. The entire range of benefits that hydroponic method offers can be seen in the table below (Winterborne, 2005). A simple hydroponics method referred to as deep water culture is often used by novice farmers. This apparatus used in this method consists of a bucket and lid, a large net pot, a large air pump, some length of airline, a large air stone, and clay pebbles. The air stone is placed at the bottom of the bucket and the airline is placed under the air stone. The bucket is then filled to between two-thirds and threequarters full with the nutrient and water solution. Lastly, the lid is placed on top of the bucket, which holds the net pot that contains the clay pebble growth medium. The air pump and airline system produces bubbles under the air stone, which in turn both both mixes the nutrient solution and and generates spray, which wets the net pot and thus the root system of the plant. Most of the root system of the plant lives in the aerated nutrient solution; therefore, the air pumping system must be working constantly. Otherwise, the roots will experience oxygen deprivation and quickly die. As the roots of the plant grow, they begin to extend downward towards to bottom of the bucket, so the water level must be lowered accordingly. Unfortunately, this method of hydroponics demands a high level of maintenance; because the size of a bucket is often between five and ten liters, and plants often consume up to five liters of water per day, the plants may literally dry out if left unattended for any significant period of time (Winterborne, 2005). Hydroponic Systems A deep water culture system can be seen at the left, and an ebb and flow system can be seen at the right (Winterborne, 2005). 146
Farmers seeking for a hydroponics method involving less maintenance often choose ebb and flow systems. These apparatuses are composed of a slightly slanted growth box with clay pebbles in the bottom, a collection reservoir, and a water pump. The growth both is slanted towards the reservoir, and the water pump floods the growth box to a pre-determined level. The water then slowly drains back down towards the reservoir until a minimum water level is reached. The pump re-floods the reservoir and the process is continually repeated (Winterborne, 2005). A visual representation of both an ebb and flow system and a deep water culture system can be seen below. Benefits of Hydroponics Factor Water Chemicals Diseases Weeds Quality Maturation Sanitation Transplanting Advantage over soil agriculture 10% that of soil irrigation No herbicides or pesticides, significantly less fertilizer No soil bacteria or viruses Virtually none Healthier and higher than that of soil agricultural yields Non-seasonal dependent, faster than that of soil agriculture Easy, safe Not possible with soil agriculture Bibliography Diamond, J. (1999). Guns, germs, and steel: The fates of human societies. New York: Norton. Diamond, J. (1991). The third chimpanzee. New York: Hutchinson Radius. Harris, M. (2001). Cultural materialism. (Updated ed.). Altamira Press. Kvietelnitis, P. (2006). U.S. Patent No. 568,856. Washington D.C.: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Mazoyer, M. and Roudart L. (2006). A history of world agriculture from the Neolithic age to the current crisis. London: Earthscan. Mukadam, H. and Morgan, J. (1992). U.S. Patent No. 917,853. Washington D.C.: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Nakamune, H. and Hirose, H. (1988). U.S. Patent No. 178,626. Washington D.C.: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Parker, R. (2002). Aquaculture science, second edition. Albany: Delmar. 147
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Got Food? Recent Advances in Food S
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Chapter 1 Diet and Nutrition Ingrid
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Economic Uncertainty It is simply n
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An example of nutritional informati
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Malnutrition and Disease A growing
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Malnutrition Globally Although a gr
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thiamine compounds. Deficiency can
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BMJ-British Medical Journal (2012).
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Chapter 2 Vitamins and Minerals Bar
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The Dangers of Multivitamins and Su
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Vitamin A and Osteoporotic Hip Frac
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Type II diabetes is caused by the i
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Bibliography Alam S.M. (2011, Jan 2
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Riboflavin. (2011). In PubMed Healt
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Chapter 3 Food Supplements Patrick
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Step 1 Herbs are checked for pestic
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In the late 1970s, the first insuli
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New Developments Researchers are co
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Prevention and Treatment Pre-diabet
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Crandall, J. P. (2010, April). Diab
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Chapter 5 Diet and Heart Disease Re
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Dilated cardiomyopathy condition is
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The buildup of plaque within the ar
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Heart disease death rates, total po
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Sensory vegetarians avoid meat beca
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This table documents the relative l
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However, vegetarian diets do receiv
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Turner-McGrievy, G. (2010.) Nutrien
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one study, research examined two ch
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contributing to the metabolic syndr
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estrictions on how much can be grow
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A fisherman prepares to sift throug
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Slow Food is an international organ
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Illustration Credits http://static.
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