OpenFields

1277: Soil-free farming

This paper has been summarised from ‘Soil free farming’ by Callie Seaman and Neil Bricklebank

Year of Publication2011

Hydroponic technologies have the potential to help meet the increased demand for food, particularly in regions with limited arable land such as Africa, Asia and parts of Australasia and the US. Future developments should to concentrate on energy and water usage; recirculating systems can be very water-efficient, re-using up to 90% of the water. Nutrient management is more effective in hydroponic than soil-based production, in preserving scarce minerals – particularly phosphate. For the DIY market, hydroponics is likely to remain a niche part of the broader gardening and 'grow your own' market.

This item is categorised as follows

• Subject Collection > Horticulture > Protected crops
• Subject Collection > Arable & industrial crops
• Subject Collection > Horticulture

Additional keywords/tags

hydroponics