Lecture 4

WATER CULTURE SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION
▪600 BC – in Iraq, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of
the Seven Wonders of the World, are thought to be the
first example of active soil-less growing.
▪Origin of SC – 17th century, Boyle attempted to plants in
‘vials containing nothing but water’ – spearmint survived
for 9 months
▪1920 - Dennis R. Hoagland develops the "Hoagland's
Solution" creating a nutrient formula that is still the basis
of what is used today.

The Hanging Gardens were said

to have been built to please King
Nebuchadnezzar's wife, Amyitis.
(Copyright Lee Krystek, 201
Gericke’s method
▪ 1920's and 30's Dr. William F. Gericke at the
University of California creates the term
"hydroponics" - refer to growing plants in water
without soil- Greek words "hydro" for water and
"ponos" for labor literally means "water-working“
▪ Plants were planted in a layer of sand which
supported on the surface of the solution by netting
and canvas through which the roots could pass into
the liquid phase.
▪ Problem – lag of aeration.
▪ To overcome- develop NFT and circulation nutrient
solutions and use aggregate substrates.
▪ 1938 - Dennis R. Hoagland and Daniel I. Arnon
wrote a classic agricultural bulletin, The Water
Culture Method for Growing Plants Without Soil .
Formulas for mineral nutrient solutions, known
as Hoagland solution. Modified Hoagland
solutions are still used today
▪ 1940s - At Purdue, Robert and Alice Withrow
alternately flood and drain plant roots held in
gravel with nutrient solution creating what is
now known as the Ebb and Flow system.
▪ 1960-1965- the Nutrient Film Technique (Alan
Cooper/UK) and drip irrigation systems (Cornell
University) are invented
▪ .
▪ SC has often been called hydroponics but it
also can be categorized by growing media,
such as:
1. Liquid culture (water culture/true
hydroponics) – nutrient solution is
recirculated after re-aeration (eg. NFT)
2. Aggregate culture – nutrient solution is
supplied to plants via irrigation through
media and excess solution is allowed to run
to waste or recirculated (eg. rockwool, sand
culture, perlite and gravel)
 SUB OF SOILLESS CULTURE SYSTEM
Substrate – relate to rhizo-medium with water (nutrient),
air and the media. E.g. 2 phase or 3 phase
▪ Substrate 2 phase – water and air. E.g. NFT,
aeroponics and water culture. Hyponica system in
Jepun, 2 phase, where tank temperature control to
28C
▪ Substrate 3 phase – water, air and media. E.g.
Gericke system, sand culture, gravel culture and
vermiculite culture. Recirculating system (close
system) and open system (drip irrig.) like in Bengal
system.
Methods of nutrient application: closed or open system.
• Closed system,  Nutrient solution in recirculated
within the root zone and it is commonly used for water
culture system (true hydroponics @ non-aggregate)
and sometimes used in aggregate system
• Open system  Nutrient solution is not recirculated
but supplied to the root zone with excess is either
collected or left to wastes. The used of both inert or
organic based media with the exception of the used of
gravel culture which sometimes using closed system
for nutrient application.
LIQUID CULTURE (TRUE
HYDROPONICS)

1. Static solution (e.g. stagnant

hydroponics)
2. Circulating solutions (e.g. NFT,
deep culture system and etc)
3. Aeroponics
AGGREGATES SYSTEMS
1. Inorganic media
1. Natural media- eg. Sand, gravel,
perlite, vermiculite, pumice, zeolite
and etc
2. Synthetic – foam mats
(polyurethane), plastic foam and
hydrogel
2. Organic media – e.g. Sawdust, bark
wood, chip wood, peat, coconut coir
dust and etc.
CLOSED SYSTEM – RECIRCULATING
SOLUTIONS
1. NUTRIENT FILM TECHNIQUE (NFT)
•“NFT” : using a very thin nutrient solution
bathing the roots of the plants grown in the
trough or gullies.
•developed late 1960’s by Dr Allan Cooper at the
Glasshouse Crops Research Institute,
Littlehampton, England
•most rapidly evolving type of water culture
system
- a thin film of nutrient solution flows through
plastics lined channels which contain the
plant roots; the walls of the channel are
flexible , to permit them being drawn
together around the base of each plant to
exclude light and prevent evaporation.
- Nutrient solution is pumped to the higher
end of each channel and flows by gravity
past the plants roots to catchment pipes
and a sump; the solution is monitored for
replenishment of salts and water before it is
recycled.
▪ The basic features
of a NFT system
▪ pump
▪ catchment tank
▪ Gullies/trought in
parallel Outlet

arrangement,
▪ delivery piping Catchment tank
▪ control system.
▪ NFT system invented in the
temperate region uses gullies
made from aluminium , polythene,
ABS (acrolonitrile butadiene
streyne), rigid PVC with the surface
covered with polythene plastic.
▪ → enable conservation of heat for
production during cooler season.
▪ In the tropics, Lim (1986) materials used as
gully in the temperate were not suitable for
use owing to overheating at prevailing
temperature.
▪ a NFT trough system whereby the trough or
gully was made from wood and covered with
polystrene. The main purpose - to minimize
increase in high temperature for the nutrient
solution.
▪ The system developed at the Universiti of
Putra Malaysia (UPM) has well adopted by
local growers and proved satisfactorily for
cultivation of many horticultural crops.
 Some useful characteristic of NFT system can be
summarised as follows;

▪ NFT –trough/gullies; depend on the crop to be

grown,
▪ the width of NFT trough should be more than 30 cm.
▪ allow ample contact and diffusion of O2 in the
nutrient solution.
NFT trough
 In the tropics, when cultivation of leafy
vegetables, NFT-trough which is
commonly constructed from plywood,
the width is either 2 ft or 3 ft
 This is because the plywood is normally
available in the width of 4 x 8’ or 3 by 6’.
When using a 4 x 8 ‘ plywood , this
plywood is divided into 2, each of 2 ‘ x 8
and to be connected together to make a
NFT trough of 2 x 16ft or longer at
individual manageable length but
should not exceed 15 - 20m.
 This can avoid temperature
and oxygen gradients
developed between inlet and
outlet. The wooden NFT-
trough is lined with 500 gauge
(0.125mm) black polythene to
ensure smooth surface for
nutrient flow.
NFT polystyrene
Polystyrene is used to cover the trough to
avoid overheating of the nutrient solution
and algae grow. If polystyrene is not
available, any thick paper is sufficient to
reduce the solution temperature.
 Trough slope
 The NFT-trough is
laid in slope down
direction which
should sufficient for
gravitational flow of
nutrient.
A slope of at least
1.5% should be
achieved , and
never less than 1%.
 Steeper slope can
keep the nutrient
shallow even at
higher flow rates
 Aeration – the flow of nutrient sollution into
each trough should be 2 -3L per minute,
depending on the oxygen content of the
solution.
 Temperature – nutrient temperature not more
than 30 degree C – if high will affect the
amount of dissolved oxygen in the solution.
 5ppm or more dissolved oxygen
 NFT system may permit economical cooling of
plant roots
 Advantages of NFT
1. NFT plants can tolerate higher EC compared
to plants grown in soil.
2. The risk of fluctuation is avoided since plants
are grown in root bathed continuously in re-
circulating solution maintaining salinity at a
constant level compared to the soil where
plants experiencing fluctuation of high and
low salinity due to soil drying or diurnal
changes in wet and dry environment.
▪ Soil: Threshold level - buffer
▪ But in NFT - nutrient solution are unbuffered
and requires carefully controlled acid or
alkaline additions and through mixing for pH
and EC maintenance (Spensley et al., 1978).

▪ Eg. in NFT: 45-50 CF, but in soil : 50 CF- mortality

level: plants already desiccate or dying at this
level:
▪ whereas in NFT: plants can be grown at level
higher e.g at 90 CF
2. DEEP CULTURE SYSTEM
•is the simplest and most preferred hydroponic growing system
•allowed to grow in a nutrient enriched solution that is highly
oxygenated
•Tools needed:
1. A reservoir; for this you can use a fish tank, a bucket or a bin
that is water proof
2. Tube
3. Air stones
4. Net pots
5. Air pump
6. Growing medium; it’s advisable to use rockwool and grow
rocks
7. Hydroponic nutrients
8. Cutting tools (scissors and cutter)
▪ Use a floater that can properly support your plants
hanging above your nutrient solution.
▪ Set the air pump to the bottom of your reservoir and
then connect the tubing and fix air stones to the
pump.
▪ Supply germinated seeds in the net pots that are
filled with growing medium, i.e. either rockwool or
grow rocks.
▪ Now fill the reservoir with nutrients designed
specifically for your hydroponic plants.
▪ Place the net pots into the holes on the floaters on
top of the nutrient solution.
▪ Provide aeration to the nutrient solution with the
help of air pump.
Aeroponics
• Aeroponics in 1983 by Jensen
• growing plants where they are suspended in air by misting
their root system with an atomized water and nutrient
solution designed to optimize plant root access to oxygen
and nutrients while minimizing water usage
• this process promotes faster plant growth and a plant that
can survive on less water and nutrients than traditional soil
cultivation.
▪ A mist of nutrient solution is sprayed for only a
few seconds at every 4-5 minutes on to the roots
of the plants that hand from a holding frame in a
rooting chamber.
▪ Good for initiating rooting of cuttings and also for
extracting (“milking”) phytochemicals from the
roots for medicinal purposes.
▪ Selection of nozzles to adjust the droplet size
might promote more fine root hairs which in turn
might influence nutrient absorption.
▪ A-frame aeroponic system are oriented with
the inclined slope facing east-west
▪ The expanded plastic panels are standard size
(1.2 x 2.4m), mounted lengthwise and spread
1.2m at the base to form an end view triangle.
▪ A-frame rests on the panel sized watertight
box (25cm deep) which contains the nutrient
solution and misting equipment
Disadvantages
1. Uneven growth
2. Variations in light intensity on the inclined
crop

Advantages
1. Leafy vegetables- many plants can
accommodate per unit of floor area
2. Use for rooting of foliage plant cuttings-
while shipping (export regulation – no soil)
FLOATING/STAGNANT HYDROPONICS
•Low coat hydroponic technology and suitable for leafy
vegetables
•Lettuce on a floating raft of expanded plastic material, like
expanded polystyrene, floating on a bed of stagnant nutrient
solution
•Introduced by Jensen (1980) and Massantini (1976).
•System consist of:
1. horizontal, rectangular-shaped tanks lined with plastic (4
x 70m and 30cm deep)
2. Nutrient solution – replenished, recirculated and aerated
•Advantages of rectangular tank – the nutrient pool are
frictionless conveyor belts for planting and harvesting movable
floats and the plants are spread in a single horizontal plane so
that interception of sunlight per plant is maximal
3. Polystyrene – 2.5cm thick floats in staggered row
(approx. 300cm sq. per plant)
 Harvesting – as a crop of several floats was
harvested from one end of a tank, new floats with
transplants were introduced at the other end
 Long lines of floats on which plant were growing
moved easily with the touch of a finger
Advantages of floating system
▪ Easy and cheap installation
▪ Optimisation of water resource
▪ Not labour intensive
▪ low maintenance
▪ Adaptable for home consumption and neighborhood
marketing
▪ Possibility of technological upgrade
▪ Needs high quality water
▪ Needs aeration of the nutrient solution (in warm
climates and/or for long cycle vegetables)
Commercial Floating Raft
Technology
▪ Floating Rafts Technology has been
developped at the University of Arizona
(U.S.A.) in the late 70s
▪ Since 1988, Floating Rafts Technology has
been installed over twenty hectare (20ha)
(2,000,000 square feet) of greenhouse in
Canada, U.S.A., Mexico and Asia and has
been used successfully to grow butterhead
and curly lettuces at a rate never reached
before.
▪ This system is the most water conscious system
among existing hydroponic growing systems
▪ the use of a large volume of water allowing
enormous buffer for fertilization and oxygen
control and economic plants' transportation by
flotation
▪ Although large volume of water is required at
the beginning for filling up growing beds but the
system allow user to grow crop after crop,
without having to discard any water (just keep
adding as much fresh water as plants required
through evapo-transpiration)