The Advantages of Hydroponics

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Introduction

Traditional farming

Agriculture has been essential for sustaining life and we are constantly improving technology to increase food production. There have been agricultural technology with concerning issues but the invention of new technology is not necessarily a threat to the environment. Modern agriculture has made a significant impact on environmental enhancement. The demand for food has been increasing throughout the world in direct correlation to the population increasing. Technological advances in food production have been abundant all over the world to minimize this matter. Different methods of farming have strayed from the traditional system of soil based farming. New techniques of farming have been developed through a controlled environment. This particular method is hydroponics, which eliminates from the pest and disease infested soil-based cultivation. This optimal approach for plant production is providing a controlled environment for plants to be maintained in a carefully managed system.

History

Hydroponics is not a new concept. This agricultural technique has revolutionized from before the pyramids. The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt enjoyed fruits and vegetables grown hydroponically. In 600 B.C., one of the Seven Wonders of the World, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, was in fact a hydroponic garden.1 King Nebuchadnezzar II built gardens that grew on the roofs and terraces of the royal palace.

This [hydroponics] method of plant cultivation dates back to the 1600s when an Englishman named John Woodward grew spearmint in several kinds of water.2 Woodward discovered plants grew better in water that contained small amounts of soil or suspended solids.

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... and Agriculture. Rome, 2001.

http://www.fao.org

Haile, Ramon Lynn. The Economics of Hydroponic Vegetable Production in an Environmentally Controlled System, vol 39. Tarzana: AAS Publications, 1976.

Jensen, Merle H. Controlled Environment Agriculture in Deserts, Tropics, and Temperature Regions – A World Review. University of Arizona Controlled Environment Agriculture Center. Tucson: 26 March 2001.

http://ag.arizona.edu/ceac/research/archive/ceawr_pe.htm#abs

Johnson, Hunter Jr. Soilless Culture of Greenhouse Vegetables. Davis: Vegetable Research and Information Center. http://vric.ucdavis.edu/veginfo/topics/ hydroponics/hydroponics.pdf

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. Springfield: G & C Merriam Company, 2003.

Resh, Howard M. Hydroponic Food Production. 5th ed. Santa Barbara: Woodbridge Press

Publishing Company, 1997.

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