WHAT IS HYDROPONICS?

 It is a method of growing plants without soil in which plants get their nutrients from a mineral solution. The method is suitable for growing greens and herbs as they as they don't have deep roots. Tomatoes, and strawberries are other popular items.

Cost Involved

• The initial costs of setting up a hydroponic farm is very high.
• A physical outer structure is required to grow the plants. This can be trays or tubes, which are typically made of food- grade plastic . The cost of this is typically Rs.50,000-75,000 for 1,000 sq ft.
• High costs involved in plumbing system and automation such as sensors , controller, water pump etc
• Money paid to consultants for help and guidance.
• Cost involved in maintaining ambient temperature and moisture: Depending on the type of enclosure , costs can vary from Rs. 25,000- Rs. 1.5 lakh. In some cases , LED lights are used to mimic sunlight, this further increases the cost.
• Cost of water: If water of an area has dissolved minerals or is hard, purification devices will be needed to make it usable , thus adding to costs.
• In process costs: Power costs due to regular water supply, LED lights and climate control. Plants also require nutrient feed from time to time which is either prepared at home or purchased from manufactures.

Benefits

• The method requires less labour, and  yields are much higher as plants grow faster (due to direct access to required nutrients) compared with regular farms.
• The method uses comparatively less water uses comparatively less water i.e only about 20% of the water that is used in the conventional methods.
• The most efficient aspect of hydroponics is that it can be even applied in a limited space .There are cases where 6,000 plants has been grown in 80 sq ft space. This has been done by stacking plants vertically , as the mentioned is not limited by the ground area.
• Products like herbs and lettuce make this method viable as well as profitable.