Evaluation of the Effect of Different Nutrients' Concentration and Composition on Hydroponically Grown Plant
As the world population grows, the demand of food products grows as well and there will be an expected food crisis in the coming years. To prevent those crises, alternative food farming methods must be used. This paper studied two farming systems in different conditions, to compare and find the best, natural and cost-effective system that will cover the current and future demand. The system which can also be used in those areas where soil is less cultivated with insufficient aeration. The first system is the soil-based system (traditional), and the other is hydroponic system. Hydroponic is a technique of growing plants in nutrient solutions with or without the use of an inert medium. Two types of seeds; peas and spinach were observed in both systems over a period of 25 days. In hydroponic plants coco peat was used in place of soil along with the Aegis nutrient. 8 plants were seeded for both types of plants in different systems, conditions, concentrations and pH to conclude the best condition. Growth parameters of all plants including root, shoot and leaf length were observed and recorded daily. On the uprooting, their weight (g), no. of root hairs and used nutrient’s volume(ml) were also recorded. Fungus and insects were seen in the soil plants. The results executed that the growth was maximum in spinach having normal manufacturer nutrient’s spray concentration(1.25ml/625ml) with pH 6 and in peas having normal supplier concentration (5ml/625ml) with pH 4. So, it can be concluded that hydroponic spinach, which is a green leafy plant, can ideally grow at the pH of 6 and peas in slightly acidic condition. Hydroponic planting system has a better growth effect than traditional soil system and this system don’t need any fertilizer, insecticide, pesticide, fungicide and herbicide. While soil plants’ growth was adversely affected by fungus and insects in the absence of these chemicals which can contaminate our food and make it less hygienic for our health. This result achieves the aim of this paper which is finding a planting system and its conditions that can increase the productivity to cover the food demand.