Aeroponic- Process Of Growing Plants In Air Medium
With the rapid change of weather and climate of the world, new technologies are being used in agriculture for the food security of the growing population.These agricultural technologies are introducing us to up-to-date and sustainable farming methods. As a result, we have now started farming without soil through various methods, which were once unimaginable. Among them, water culture, aquaponics, aeroponics, NFT etc are the most common methods. Let’s see today what aeroponics is and how to cultivate this method.
★What is Aeroponics?
The word aeroponics is a combination of the two Greek words ‘air’ and ‘ponos’. Here, ‘air’ means air and ‘ponos’ means labor. It is mainly a subset of hydroponics methods. In other words, aeroponics is a method of growing plants without soil or any other substrate where the plants are placed on a platform or chamber and the plants grow in the atmosphere of water and nutrients in the air.In this method the roots of the plant are not submerged in water like hydroponics method,rather water and nutrients are sprayed directly on the roots of the plant. NASA was first able to successfully produce lettuce and wheat in the laboratory using the aeroponics method in 1998. Then in 2004 a company called Aerofarm started ‘Indoor Vertical Farming’ based on aeroponics in an abandoned factory of 69,000 square feet in New Jersey, New York.
★Which tools are needed for the Aeroponic system?
- A reservoir/container to hold the nutrient solution,Nutrient pump,Mist nozzles,Enclosed growing chamber for the root zone,Watertight containers for the growing chamber where the plant’s root systems will be,Timer (preferable a cycle timer) to turn on and off the pump.
★How does the Aeroponic system work?
In the aeroponic system, plants are usually inserted into the platform top holes on top of a reservoir and placed within a sealed container. Due to no root zone media for plants to anchor in, you need to prepare a support collar that will hold stems in place. These collars must be rigid enough to hold plants upright and keep the roots in place but flexible enough to allow room for roots to grow. The pump and sprinkler system creates vapor (which is a hydro-atomized spray mixture of water, nutrients and growth hormones) out of the nutrient-rich solution and sprays the mist in the reservoir, engulfing the dangling plant roots and absorbed by them. This spray provides the exact amount of moisture which stimulates the plant’s growth and allows it to develop turgidly.The timer supplies the timed spray intervals and duration for the plants.
★What can be cultivated through Aeroponics?
Aeroponics is an ideal method for indoor cultivation. In this way, about 250 species of vegetables and aquatic plants such as cabbage,lettuce, basil etc. can be produced. You will be happy to know that BARI is already producing virus and germ-free potatoes (mini-tubers) through aeroponics. In this method the growth of the plant is accelerated as the nutrient up-take of the plant is good and the rot is less as the roots are in contact with adequate oxygen. As a result the formation and growth of the roots is better.
★Some limitations of Aeroponic method:
In the aeroponics method the chambers are moistened with regular nutrient sprays which create a favorable environment for the growth of harmful bacteria and fungi. That is why you have to be careful while using it. Moreover, it is such a sensitive process that if for some reason the spray system does not work, the tree dies quickly.In the case of our country, it is an expensive process, although money can be compensated for in terms of productivity.
Aeroponics will play a unique role in ensuring the food supply of this growing population as the amount of arable land decreases due to urbanization in the country. By adopting this method, farmers will be able to produce 75% more yield than conventional farming.
