Many farmers are suffering huge loses or producing low-quality products because they are still engaging in the traditional methods of farming. This is because the inflow of specific conditions, for instance, the temperature or light duration and intensity is not controlled but comes from a natural source. Due to this, agricultural experts have come with various techniques of farming and crop cultivation that can be manipulated to match the requirement of specific crops. Among them is hydroponic cultivation. Under this method, essential factors are easily controllable as they are artificial. For example, lights used is a cheap LED grow light. This light is cheap and the intensity, as well as the duration of light inflow, can be regulated. This article will cover some 5 reasons why you should consider hydroponic cultivation.
Better space allocation: According to several pieces of research, a farmer utilizing hydroponic cultivation will take 20% less space of land than those growing crops on the soil. This implies that more crops can be grown using this type of cultivation over those grown in soil in the same sized area. This is a practical advantage especially in the current world where space is limited. In hydroponic cultivation, crops do not have to spread roots so deep to reach water and nutrients. These components are readily availed directly to the roots. Therefore, using this technique, farmers can yield more produce by utilizing way less infrastructure.
Hydroponic cultivation is not affected by the weather: Plants under this form of cultivation are grown under a greenhouse or indoors using artificial and cheap led grow lights. Therefore, plants do not depend much on the natural sunlight which could vary with the changing weather patterns.
It saves water: Researches have it that hydroponics can support crops even in conditions that have very little water contents. Plants in hydroponic cultivation can be sustained by as little as 5-10% of the water that is required when farming with soil. Under this system, water conservation and recycling are utilized in its level best. The only water loss in the system is that which is lost naturally by evaporation or through leakages. Therefore, by adopting hydroponic cultivation, a large amount of water is saved. This water is useful for the ecosystem among other usages.
It`s less labor-intensive: This form of cultivation does not require much labor. Though the initial layout cost may be expensive, after setting the layout, the cultivating costs are much minimal. It doesn't require plowing, hoeing or any other labor requirements found in the soil-based system.
Climate control: The prevailing climatic conditions can be easily adjusted when using this technique. For instance, it entails the use of LED grow lights, therefore, the intensity of light can be regulated. Also, other conditions like temperatures, air composition among others can be easily regulated to match the optimal requirement of any crop.