Hydroponics in Pakistan

                                                           On the earth water is the most important value able thing just like saying water is the life no water no food and life becomes end. And there is no alternate source of water in the world. When all people at all time have physical and economic access to safe enough nourishing food to meet their dietary needs for an active healthy life style that known as food security. We need a ceiling amount of water for the growing purpose in agriculture. Due to lack and unpolluted water disturb the term of food security. Loss of water caused small amount the available food and serious crisis in future. People are demanding a pesticide free and fresh yield with the investment of very less amount.  From recently passed out years agriculture related people moves to grow vegetables and fruits without soil and used very less amount of water that term is called as hydroponics. Hydroponics term was first time used by California researcher name W.F Gerike and he also called father of modern hydroponics. Hydroponics is the combination of two words hydro means water and Ponics means labor. Plants may be supported in porous media, pots, perforated tubes or channels. Hydroponics referred as soilless culture   Hydroponics on the commercial scale use by US military in 1940 and by the NASA in 1960.Best decades of hydroponics on commercial sense are 1980 to 1990. In 2002 Jones and Gibson stated that the future of continued expansion of hydroponics for commercial production of plant is not encouraging unless a major breakthrough occurs in the way the technique is designed and used. In 2003 south pacific soilless culture conference Alexander said hydroponics is growing rapidly everywhere and within 5 to 10 years will be established as a major part of the our agriculture and horticulture production industries. In hydroponics we provide the nutrients to the plants along with the water. In the soil cultivation nutrients slowly dissolved in surrounding soil water solution and after this root absorb the nutrients from the soil water. Basic needs for the growing of plants are same whether we grow them in soil are or in hydroponic system. In hydroponics system all the nutrients are rendered in a water solution that passes over the roots or floods around them at usual interval. In hydroponic plants grow faster because nutrients are instantaneously available. Hydroponic system fill the requirements of the plants root just like soil would be provided support, oxygen and carbon dioxide, water and nutrients. We conserve or safe a sufficient amount of water in hydroponics. In the hydroponics practice only used 1/10th to 1/5th of the water in the agriculture. In this cultivation there is no disturbance of weeds. Weeds are the major problem of soil cultivation and use of herbicides cause massive amount of money for weeding purpose.  In hydroponics farmer control the environmental conditions and also yield is the expected. Hydroponics solution can be modified according to the plants requirements. Hydroponics produces all the macro and micro nutrients which are required for the human body. Hydroponics can reduce the irrigation water usage by 70% to 90% by recycling the run-off water. In hydroponics there is less chance of fungal disease because we control the moisture level in the environment. Hydroponics eliminates the chances of root diseases by appropriating the sufficient porosity for drainage of the excess water to the root zone. The use of the IPM in protected environment is ideally is suitable to hydroponics growing techniques because it is done in the protected environment like glasshouse. IPM almost reduces the need of toxic and costly chemical pesticide. Due to controlled condition there are less chances of disease spreading in hydroponics. Hydroponics is the much cheaper system as it involve using cheap recyclable material like wooden boxes, bamboo bottles etc. In hydroponic system allow the pH level available to plants to be adjusted quickly. Adjusting the pH of nutrient solution helps in nutrient uptake. When hydroponics compare to soil cultivation it reduces the need of farm equipments and labor. In Australia area under the hydroponics crop production went from 155 to 250 hectares from 1990 to 2008. The world commercial hydroponics industry has grown 4 to 5 fold in the last decades and is currently estimated at between 20,000 and 225,000 hectares. The Wyoming town of Jackson a Vertical Harvest (multi story green house) will be capable of producing over 37,000 pounds of greens, 4,400 pounds of herbs, and 44,000 pounds of tomatoes. Its founders say that Vertical Harvest’s 30 foot by 150 foot plot of land offers the same growing areas as 23 acres of traditional farmland, and has a fraction of the environmental impact, using 90 percent less water and 100 percent fewer pesticides than traditional farming. Hydroponics has two types indoor and outdoor it depends upon its environmental condition. The countries which are involved in hydroponics Australia, France, USA, China , Singapore, Oman India and some others. Near about 120000 hectare area is used under greenhouse hydroponic production in the world. In Pakistan Tahir Rana is a nuclear physicist who works on hydroponics and set up a vegetable farm named Fareed farmhouse in Faisalabad. He produces three varieties of tomatoes (cherry tomato, strawberry tomato, and beef tomato), cucumber and capsicum. Through this technique, farmers can get between 450 and 550 tons of vegetables per acre, compared to the average yield of 15 tons per acre using traditional farming. Hydroponic farming requires an investment of up to Rs1.5 million per acre, though it can yield net profits of up to Rs3 million per acre annually.

There are six different types of hydroponics systems which are used in the world.

  • Drip system

Drip system is one of the most useable hydroponic systems in the world and it applies on both small scale and large scale.

  • Ebb-flow system

Flood and Drain (Ebb and Flow) systems are very popular with home hydroponic growers. That system is formed in any available space you might have it is built (both indoors and outdoors)

  • F.T (Nutrient film Technique)

N.F.T systems are very popular with home hydroponic growers and it is mostly used for quick growing plants like lettuce.

  • Water culture

It is the simplest form from other six hydroponics systems. It is simple but very effective and that type is used as home stage but also on commercial scale.

  • Aeroponics

Areoponics system is quite simple but it is most technical of all 6 types of hydroponics. It is easy to build your own basic aeroponic system.

  • Wick system

The wick system is the simplest of all six types of hydroponic systems. It does not have any moving parts and no use of pump or electricity. Mostly used in those areas where electricity is not available.

 

 

 

 

 

 

AUTHOR;                                                                                        

Muhammad Yahya*, Dr. Javed Hassan1, Imran Bashir2, Muhammad Mubeen Tahir3

AUTHOR*;BSc(hons)Agriculture sciences, Department of Entomology University college of Agriculture, University of Sargodha .

Co-author’s Department of Plant Breeding and Genetic BZU

2&3 Co-author; Department of Agriculture, University of Sargodha.

 

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3 Comments

  1. Tahir rana is a great encouragement for all pakistanis, provided what he has achieved in limited resources in Faisalabad.

    There is no contact number ( neither cell phone nor PTCL ) available to contact him or his office for futher guidance in this research. If this message reaches someone responsible, please ask tahir rana to share his contact number. Jazak Allah
    Hafiz mohsin
    Lahore

    • Avoid sharing personal details like email or mobile phone in comments, they can be used for spam purposes.

      Thanks

  2. Asalam Alikum sir ji mai Pakistan aky Hydroponics farming Karna cha Raha ho Kiya Karachi mai kowi office hai agar hai tu please mujie kouch sekna hai es farming ky bary mai

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