Popula r A rticle

Journal Home: www.bioticainternational.com

[
Article: RT759

Biotica
[
H o w t o c i t e t h i s a r t i c l e?
Nautiyal and Ghosh, 2021. Use of Different Media for
Research Soil-less Culture System. Biotica Research Today 3(10):
867-869.
Today A bstrac t
867
Vol 3:10
S
oil-less culture system may be defined as a system of growing
869 plants that does not use soil but any other medium to grow
2021 plants. Presently soil based cultivation shows the serious
challenge due to lack of land availability, massive industrialization
Use of Different Media for rate and intense urbanization. Soil based agriculture is at stake due
to relentless soil degradation, unsound management practices.
Soil-less Culture System This article aims to show the objectives and the different types of
media used for soil less culture. There are several types of soil-less
Shreya Nautiyal and Sukanya Ghosh* culture media present like coco coir, hydroton, peat moss, perlite,
vermiculite, nutrient solution, etc. Soil-less culture can significantly
Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand increase the yield of the crop, reduce labor requirement, increase
(248 002), India water use efficiency, reduce soil borne diseases, control nutrient
and water supply and can effectively prevent the environment
degradation. Climate change, CO2 emission and other ecological issue
will determine the development of soil-less culture system and the
choice of growing media in the near future.
Open Access Introduction

T
Corresponding Author
he growing of plants without soil has developed from
Sukanya Ghosh
the findings of experiments carried out to determine
e-mail: mail2firecell@gmail.com
what substance make plants grow and the composition
of plants. However, the practice is age old. Gardens of Babylon
and the Floating Gardens of the Aztecs of Mexico are examples
Key wo r d s of soil-less culture. The interest in applying soil-less cultivation
Aeroponics, Hydroponics, Nutrient Film Technique, Soil-less at commercial level gradually increased by the end of 1960’s.
culture Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) and Rockwool were introduced
as growing medium in Europe. Soils do pose serious limitations
for plant growth at times. Presence of diseases causing
organisms and nematodes, soil reaction, soil compaction,
poor drainage, degradation due to erosion are some of them.
In addition, conventional crop growing in soil is intensive as it
involves large space, lot of labor, and large volume of water.
Moreover, places like urban areas, limited land is available
for crop growing, or scarcity of fertile cultivable lands is there
due to their unfavorable geographical conditions. Under such
circumstances soil-less culture can be introduced successfully.
Soil-Less Culture

S
oil less culture is defined as “any method of growing
plants without the use of soil as a rooting medium, in
which the inorganic nutrients absorbed by the roots are
supplied via the irrigation water” (El-Kazzaz and El-Kazzaz,
Article History 2017; Solanki et al., 2017).
Received in 06th October 2021 Types of Soil-Less Culture
Received in revised form 11th October 2021
Accepted in final form 12th October 2021 • Hydroponics
• Aeroponics
E-mail: bioticapublications@gmail.com

© 2021 867
Nautiyal and Ghosh, 2021
A. Hydroponics
H
ydroponics is the art of gardening without soil.
Hydroponics is a Latin word meaning “working water”.
In the absence of soil, water goes to work providing
nutrients, hydration, and oxygen to plant life. The two main
types of hydroponics are solution culture and media culture.
Solution Culture
I
t is also known as ‘liquid hydroponics’ method. Plant grown
in solution culture has their roots suspended directly in a
nutrient solution. It can further be classified into:
1. Circulating Method (closed system)/ Continuous flow
solution culture
(a) Nutrient film technique (NFT)
(b) Deep flow technique (DFT)
2. Non-circulating method (open system)/ Static solution
culture
(a) Root dipping technique
(b) Floating technique
(c) Capillary action technique
Media Culture
T
he media culture method has a solid medium for the
roots and is named for the type of inert medium, e.g.,
sand culture, gravel culture, or rock wool culture. There
are two main variations for each medium, sub irrigation and
top irrigation. However, it is classified as:
1. Hanging bag technique
2. Grow bag technique
3. Trench or trough technique
4. Pot technique
B. Aeroponics
A
eroponics is a method of growing plants where they
are anchored in holes in Styrofoam panels and their
roots are suspended in air beneath the panel. The
aeroponics culture is usually practiced in protected structures
and is suitable for leafy vegetables like lettuce, spinach, etc.
There are two techniques under this group:
1. Root mist technique
2. Fog feed technique
Different Types of Growing Medium
for Soil-Less Culture System
G
rowing medium is a medium other than soil which
is inert and inorganic material. It is used because it
is the major support for the plants to hold them up
(Sengupta and Banerjee, 2012). These are useful because of
their water holding capacity, porosity leading to appropriate
© 2021
nutrition solution supply, proper oxygenation of roots which
keep the plants healthy. There are many types of growing
medium but it depends on its properties as well as type of
system used for production of plants. They are:
Coco Coir
C
oco coir has excellent water holding capacity and inert
characteristics. It is basically produced from a brown
husk which surrounds a coconut shell. Coconut coir is
sold in small compressed packets which expand 6-8 times in
volume when water is added. Though it has good aeration
property but its disadvantage is that it breaks down after
several uses and cannot drain out quickly.
Hydroton
T
hey are actually an expanded clay product. It has
a porous structure which makes it easy to absorb
appropriate amount of water. It keeps its shape as
it is which leads to ease in exchange of oxygen with roots.
Hydroton is a pH neutral product.
Perlite
P
erlite is a light weight, porous and inert material. It is
made by heating silica until it expands. This medium
keep plants more open to air, while having good water
retention properties, and therefore makes a good medium for
hydroponics. Reusable, inexpensive and lightweight filler are
some other properties of perlite. The major drawback is that
it cannot be used alone for ebb and flow, as it tends to float
away or move during the flooding cycle.
Sphagnum Peat Moss
S
phagnum peat moss has a coarse texture but is
lightweight and sterile. It promotes adequate aeration
and holds water well. However, it is usually difficult to
moisten on its own and is best used with other mediums. This
growing medium is ideal for germinating seeds.
Vermiculite
V
ermiculite is often used with or without perlite. This
form of mica is more compact and unlike perlite, does
well retaining water. However, Vermiculite does not
provide good aeration as perlite.
Conclusion
S
oil-less culture is one of the best techniques to overcome
local water shortages, while also producing high quality
produce, even in areas with poor soil structures and
problematic conditions. Progress has been rapid and results
obtained in various countries have been proved that this
technology is thoroughly practical and has very definite
advantages over conventional methods of crop production.
People living in crowded city streets, without gardens, can
grow fresh vegetables and barren and sterile areas can be
made productive at relatively low cost.
868
Biotica Research Today 2021, 3(10):867-869

References agriculture. World J. Sci. Technol 2(7), 103-108.

Solanki, S., Gaurav, N., Bhawani, G., Kumar, A., 2017.
El-Kazzaz, K.A., El-Kazzaz, A.A., 2017. Soilless agriculture a new Challenges and Possibilities in Hydroponics: An Indian
and advanced method for agriculture development: an Perspective. Inte. Jour. of Adva. Rese. 5(11), 177-182.
introduction. Agri Res Tech 3, 63-72.
Sengupta, A., Banerjee, H., 2012. Soil-less culture in modern

© 2021 869