The traditional agriculture has come under the scrutiny due to its adverse effects on the environment - depletion of natural resources, like water & soil and various health hazards due to use of synthetic chemical inputs. Not just that, with the growing global population, the arable land is also declining and growers are continuously looking for alternative and safer ways to grow plants while using less space.
These reasons have led to explosive surge in soil less production systems such as Hydroponics, Aquaponics & Aeroponics.
Let’s first discuss what these techniques are and how they are better than the conventional farming methods.
Hydroponics:
It is a method of growing plants without soil. It may sound contradictory to common understanding of growing plants without any soil, but for plants to flourish, they need just 2 things: essential plant nutrients and water.
Due to this, if the nutrients are provided within the water and delivered to the roots, there isn’t any need to have soil present in the growing system. In a hydroponic growing system, a nutrient-charged, aquatic solution is flushed through the root zone to provide the plants with the resources needed for optimal growth.
Aquaponics:
This technique of growing plants without soil, which combines hydroponics with aquaculture. In addition to growing plants in water, it also introduces fish in the system. You feed the fish and fish waste, in turn, nourishes the plant. In this way, you don’t have to fertilize the plants individually.
Aeroponics:
Aeroponics is a variation of hydroponics, but rather than using a grow bed filled with media, plants are suspended, with roots being intermittently sprayed with a nutrient solution by an automated sprinkler system connected to the main nutrient reservoir, with efficiency and precision.
By using this media-less method of growing, the roots come into contact with pure air. The extra oxygen at the root zone makes the aeroponic method much more efficient by enabling the plant to form its oils and sugars more efficiently – the ‘building blocks’ for the plants.
Conclusion:
Aeroponics nourishes the plant with nutrient-laden mist, but care should be taken that it should be highly calibrated, slightly malfunctioning of instruments on these part can cause to loss of crop.
The advantage in Aquaponics is that we can raise fish and grow crops at the same time. It is a system of symbiosis between plants & fish grown and helps the farmers earn extra income as well.
Hydroponics system has a quicker setup time since you don’t need to focus on growing fish alongside the plants.
Final verdict:
Which one has higher yield?
Definitely, plants yield was more under aeroponics but the overall yield was more under aquaponics due to fish components.
Which is more profitable?
Since overall yield is higher in Aquaponics, therefore it is the most profitable technique of soil-less agriculture.
Which one is more commercially viable?
Definitely, aquaponics are more commercially viable than aeroponics and hydroponics as it gives both plant and fish yields.
Which needs less water and use of electricity?
Aeroponics need less water and use of electricity as already explained that the unused water can be drained back to the nutrient tank.
