Hello Atul,
Good information.
I have few querries-
Hydroponics being unnatural growing technique, how it has some disadvantages?
Will it not like growth of any man with inorganic nutrients and supplements?
Don’t plant need organic nutrients like carbs, fats & protiens by animals?
Will the crop grown by hydroponics not be different/unhealthful to human consumption as compared to crop by soil cultivation?
How it is viable for commercial cultivation in view of big initial investment?
Hi VijayKumar,
I am happy you raised these questions because that will educate so many people who have either no information or are misled. Here in my limited capacity I am trying to answer your queries. Hope you find it helpful.
Hydroponics being unnatural growing technique, how it has some disadvantages?
Now where on the earth this unnatural part came from? In fact tell me what is unnatural about it…We use the same plants that grow in farms, we give same fertilizers that are used in traditional agriculture, water is same, CO2 is same, instead of soil we use coco peat which is natural, we do not use any chemicals or enzymes or steroids that changes plant behavior or performance unlike some traditional farmers. So really speaking all you are doing is creating an environment that is most appreciated, favored and intended by nature itself for a particular plant and thus plants in turn reward us with proper growth and yield. Our forefathers lived in the caves, ate roots, tubers, fruits and hunted for meat. Today we live in homes where hygienic standards are way higher than caves, we eat processed and clean food, take medication to protect us…have we become unnatural?
Will it not like growth of any man with inorganic nutrients and supplements?
Every plant takes chemical ions only as a food. Plants do not care whether chemicals are coming from organic or inorganic source. Even when you eat your food, it is ultimately converted into chemical ions which your body accepts. You need to understand between essential chemicals and harmful effect of performance chemicals. For example CaNo3 or Calcium Nitrate is needed by plant for taking up Ca and No3. Whether it comes from organic source or from chemicals plant will take it as ca and no3. But Oxitocin which is used by farmers to enlarge vegetables overnight is not available naturally and thus plants donot take it. This needs to be injected in the plants. This kind of chemicals and it’s usage that is dangerours and must be banned.
Don’t plant need organic nutrients like carbs, fats & protiens by animals?
Carbs, fats or proteins are chemicals with precise chemical formula. Plants produce their own carbs and proteins and fats. They do not need to be given externally but they need the source of ions which will make those. For example sugar in fruits is produces by use of C and H which is acquired by plants from CO2, Water and so on. In order to take us CO2 plants need leaves and in order to have leaves it needs N, P and K. Hope you got the cycle.
Will the crop grown by hydroponics not be different/unhealthful to human consumption as compared to crop by soil cultivation?
Crop grown hydroponically is much more safer and much more nutritious than soil grown commercial food.
How it is viable for commercial cultivation in view of big initial investment?
I always say, you can repair a car in a garage but you can’t build a car factory in a garage or on garage budget. Bottom line, you are creating a factory so it has to have all the capital expenses in place. Hydroponics is extremely viable because it is the most efficient food production system. By the way, if traditional agricultural was viable with very low cost our farmers would have been very well off by now.
It is not about pricing, or selling it is about efficient, consistent, quality production which is the main problem in today’s agriculture.
Dear Atul,
Thanks for quite informative reply. You appear to be quite dedicated to it. I have following unclarities:
Sorry, I ,meant traditional cultivation.
1.“Every plant takes chemical ions only as a food. Plants do not care whether chemicals are coming from organic or inorganic source. Even when you eat your food, it is ultimately converted into chemical ions which your body accepts.”
Animals directly absorb organic molecules and they need it in body like blood glucose, fatty acids, albunims etc. These we get from normal foods. Whether plants do not need this type of organic molecules which they can get only from soil? Soil microorganisms like friendly bacterias to humans may have another consideration in respect of hydronomics cultivation.
Best regards.
Hareesh M
WALGREENS COIR Inc.
#127,Subbian Nagar
Pollachi-642002
Coimbatore District
Tamilnadu(India)
Telefax:+91-4259-235173
Call -91 -99950 91807
Skype-hareeshm.nair
Mail:walgreensindia@rediffmail.com;walgreensindia@gmail.com
www.coirsubstrates.net
walgreensindia, Thanks for details. You can also awnser my querries.
Variables need to be manipulated with area & economy. Whatever better suit to particular area, crop and economy is the real talent. If Atul has such talent it will be his credential which we may not get elsewhere on internet. Not so?
Moreover, In India there is big gap between farmer price & consumer price due to many mediators and crop damages. So picture can look quite rosy on paper but whether it is reality in practice or not, is need to be carefully understood. If one who can fill this gap in farmer price and consumer price, it will really worth. I think many big players tried eg. Reliance fresh, but I do not think they were quite successful?
Moreover hudge intial investment(think making & maintaining 40000 sft green house with other equipments) and working requirements with cro failures and too much fluctuations in agricultural sale price, make it bit doubtful.
Hai, please send your Questions
How hydroponic cultivation is more viable than green house cultivation in pots/containers(not in earth)?
you can grow veg,herbs & flowers in open filed by using grow bags ,gutter , open top or any pot systems . some photos attached.
walgreensindia, Atul,
Thanks but for better understanding about viabilty of expensive Hydroponics cultivation, we are need to understand and compare;-
Open field cultivation in Hydroponics way.
Open field cultivation in Green house cultivation way.
Green house cultivation in containers using clay and ground covered.
Green House cltivation in hydroponics way.
We can compare crops grown hydrolonically with open field cultivation but it can be more relevant to compare crop output with green house/open field cultivation in containers by controlled menthods.
Dear sir,
I read all comments and all are interested, but I don’t known what is Hydroponics cultivation, so please explain i am highly interested, if possible plz send all information(just like how much invest in 1 acre, how much environment required, how much profit approx. , labour, fert. pestisides, etc.) send also in my mail id (ashbal001@yahoo.com)
i am staying at near Rajkot (Gujarat)
i also interested in new projects of Agriculutre so plz. reply
Thanks and regards
Ashwin Baldha(+91 9426132435)
Dear Mr Atul,
Very interesting. However, if you could please clarify (technical reasons if possible)
To Amol,
Very interesting. However, if you could please clarify (technical reasons if possible)
Dear Mr Atul,
Any viable suggestions for #5 - resistant varieties and which microbial cultures. I have found some results of Trichoderma viride but it does not seem to do a 100% job.
Regards
Amol
Hi VijayKumar…
Hi Atul,
Just looking up the internet and found these sites in New York related to greenhouse and hydroponic cultivation. They are part of the movement called urban farming
gothamgreens.com/our-farm/ - with an Indian heritage CEO Vijai Puri
brooklyngrangefarm.com/
brightfarms.com/
Some of these companies claim a yield of 300 tons per acre!! Is this credible?
Yup. Highly possible as they are running under very controlled conditions with high tech monitoring and also the varieties that are being grown are very high yielders
Shiv
Hi there,
Question is 300 tons of what produce? If it is Tomatoes, people have done better than that. If it is Color Peppers it is doubtful.
As other person has correctly put it the output depends on so may factors that it is just about impossible to actually come down to a perfect number but that also does not mean you can’t figure who is boasting and what is a possibility.
Regards
Atul
Dear Atul,
I look into this thread now and then as i find hydrponics quite intersting and quite a suitable answer to urban food needs. Do u have a blog or website?
U hv commented somewhere that ur target is 100 tons per acre. As per this video precisionfarminginkerala.blogspot.in/ a certain Digaul Thomas, winner of kerala best Farmer award, claims an output of 6 tons beans, 12 tons tomatoes, 6 tons salad vegetables from his polyhouse of 1000 sq metres. Thus extrapolating his output of 24 tons from 1/4 acre, we get a figure of 96 tons per acre through polyhouse method. (The video is in malayalam and u will need somebody to transalate it) (there is also a caveat that Digaul says not all vegetables can be grown by polyhouse method)
As this is close to ur target and since hydroponics is more expensive than polyhouse (I assume), wont farmers opt for polyhouse method? Or can hydroponics deliver significantly larger output?
On a separate note, I went to the websites Le mentioned. They grow salad greens, peppers, kale, chard, bac choi, herbs, carrots, radishes, beans, etc.
