What are Greenhouse agriculture and hydroponics? « Back to Questions List

Greenhouse agriculture is a practice that ensures strong agri-economics with refurbishment of ecology. It is a technology to enhance crop production under controlled environmental conditions. Greenhouse agriculture has become popular all over the world and is highly useful in cultivating export oriented crops. At present, more than fifty countries have adopted the technology. 

Basically, greenhouse technology is used in horticulture for growing flowers.  The process involves assessment of soil structure and soil fertility and ensuring proper  drainage. The soil at the site for constructing greenhouse is put under steam sterilization normally on annual basis.  Steam is injected into the soil under a tarpaulin cover. The steam slowly penetrates into the soil.  Penetration of steam up to 20-30 cm has high effect on the crop cultivation. With this process, pathogenic fungi and bacteria get removed from the soil.  An alternate process employing methyl bromide fumigation was employed in the initial stages. However, this method is very rare as methyl bromide has been banned due to its ozone depleting properties.  Instead, the new practice is to use sodium and bromide as fumigants against bacteria, fungi and weeds. 

The method of production using greenhouse technology is both labour and capital intensive and expensive compared to traditional agriculture. Even then, the technology is widely used in Japan, Spain, the US, Israel and India. The expensive steam sterilization and fumigation has led to the development of soilless agriculture.  Soilless agriculture, also called hydroponics, under controlled climatic conditions has proved to be cost effective and highly successful.

In hydroponic method plants are grown in an inert medium like ceramic rock, rock wool etc. In this method nutrients for plants are supplied through a water solution. This method was used even in 1600, but the term hydroponic was used for the first time by a US agriculturist W. E. Gericke.  

Hydropnically grown plants spend less energy on their root system.  Further, consumption of fertilizer is also less. Due to cost savings, hydroponic technique is considered highly viable. 

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