Soilless Culture Management

207 Pages·1995·3.833 MB·English

by  Prof. Meier Schwarz Ph.D. (auth.)

Advanced Series in Agricultural Sciences 24
Co-ordinating Editor: B. Yaron
Editors: B.L. McNeal, F. Tardieu
H. Van Keulen, D. Van Vleck
Advanced Series in Agricultural Sciences
Volumes already published in the series
Volume 10 Volume 20
Saline and Sodic Soils (1982) Water Flow and Solute Transport
E. Bresler, B. L. McNeal, D. L. Carter in Soils (1993)
D. Russo, G. Dagan (Eds.)
Volume II
A Theory of Feeding and Growth of Volume 21
Animals (1982) Production of Sugarcane:
J. R. Parks Theory and Practice (1993)
G. Hunsigi
Volume 12
Fertilization of Dryland and Irrigated Volume 22
Soils (1982) Management of Water Use
1. Hagin, B. Tucker in Agriculture (1994)
K. K. Tanji, B. Varon (Eds.)
Volume 13
Agricultural Soil Mechanics (1983) Volume 23
A. 1. Koolen, H. Kuipers Woody Plants in Agro-Ecosystems
of Semi-Arid Regions (1995)
Volume 14 H. Breman, J.-J. Kessler
Energy and Agriculture (1984)
G. Stanhill (Ed.) Volume 24
Soilless Culture Management
Volume 15 (1995)
The Rhizosphere (1986) M. Schwarz
E. A. Curl, B. Truelove
Volume 16
Population Genetics:
Basic Principles (1987)
D. P. Doolittle
Volume 17
Irrigation with Treated Sewage
Effiuent (1991)
A. Feigin, I. Ravina, 1. Shalhevet
Volume 18
Advances in Statistical Methods
for Genetic Improvement of
Livestock (1990)
D. Gianola, K. Hammond (Eds.)
Volume 19
Electromagnetic Radiations in
Food Science (1992)
1. Rosenthal
Meier Schwarz
Soilless Culture
Management
With 30 Figures and 21 Tables
Springer-Verlag
Berlin Heidelberg New York
London Paris Tokyo
Hong Kong Barcelona
Budapest
Prof. Meier Schwarz, Ph.D.
Bone Hacho rna
Old City, Jerusalem 97500
Israel
and
Jerusalem College of Technology
P.O.B. 16031
Jerusalem 91160
Israel
ISBN-13:978-3-642-79095-9 e-ISBN-13 :978-3-642-79093-5
DOl: 10.1007/978-3-642-79093-5
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. Schwarz, M. (Meier), 1926- . Soilless
culture management / M. Schwarz. p. cm. - (Advanced series in agricultural sciences; v. 24) In-
cludes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN-13 :978-3-642-79095-9
1. Hydroponics. I. Title. II. Series: Advanced series in agricultural sciences; 24. SB 126.5.S33 1995
631.5' 85 - dc20 94-38472
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Foreword
The method of growing plants without soil, known as hydro
ponics, has long been a subject of much public interest in
Israel. Israel, short on water supply and limited in agricultural
soil, was looking for alternatives.
The study of hydroponics in Israel received additional stim
ulus from a somewhat unrelated source. Owing to observance
of the Sabbatical year (which required the land to be left fol
low every seventh year), certain religious settlements in Israel
were faced with the problem of providing fresh vegetables for
their members during that seventh year. In the course of seek
ing solutions to this problem, practical experiments with the
gravel culture method began in 1952 at Kibbutz Hafetz-Hayim,
of which the author was a member.
Although the method was initially introduced for religious
reasons, it soon became apparent that hydroponic culture might
be an economically viable means of growing flowers and veg
etables under the special conditions prevailing in Israel.
In the Negev, the desert area of Israel, arable land and fresh
water are scarce, and readily available water is brackish. A
hope arose that, thanks to this method, less water would be
required and brackish water could be utilized to enable devel
opment of the region. Research was carried out at the Negev
Institute for Arid Zone Research in Beersheva, including field
trials at desert settlements.
The development of new and more economic methods, espe
cially sand culture and rockwool culture, opens most regions
for economic soilless culture. More than 30% of certain veg
etables and flowers have been produced recently in Israel by
these methods.
The awaited blooming of the deserts will be fundamentally,
connected with soilless culture methods. Soilless culture is
already the future.
In common with many countries around the world, in arid
regions under controlled glasshouse conditions in agricultural
VI Foreword
regions, and in space programs, salinity problems have con
tributed to the enormous progress in this field of plant produc
tion.
Direct contact to many Agriculture Institutes, to research,
as well as to agriculturists and their experience, enable us to
present this subject.
My thanks to International Groups such as The International
Society of Soilless Culture in the Netherlands, the Hydroponic
Society in the USA and in Germany, where the exchange of
information stimulated new ideas. Special thanks to the Plant
Protection and Production Department of the Food and Agri
culture Organization (FAa) of UN in Rome, who opened the
soilless culture methods to the Third World.
I thank also my colleagues at the Jerusalem College of Tech
nology, where our recent activities took place.
Preface
In selecting material to be included in this book, emphasis has
been placed on recent developments in rapidly expanding areas
of applied research, and, new methods and ideas in modem
agriculture.
The book is intended to serve as a guide for students in the
agricultural sciences, for agriculture instructors and for the
soilless-culture farmer.
The needs of the commercial soilless farmer fall between
those of controlled scientific plant growth and those of ordi
nary agriculture. Advanced understanding of plant growth,
nutrition and environment requirements, and their limitations,
will provide the farmer with improved capability for observa
tion of his crops.
With the improved understanding that the farmer will gain
about his plants from this book, he will be better able to ask
more precise and pointed questions of the consultant.
Jerusalem, Israel M. SCHWARZ
December 1994
Contents
1 History....................................... 1
2 Types of Hydroponics and Nomenclature ....... 3
2.1 Advantages and Disadvantages ................. 4
3 Nutrients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.1 The Elemental Composition of Plants .......... 7
3.2 Macroelements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.3 Microelements................................ 14
3.4 Nonrequired Elements ......................... 17
3.5 Deficiency Symptom Considerations............ 18
3.6 Interaction Between Nutrients .................. 19
3.7 Methods of Expressing Solution Concentration.. 20
3.8 Composition of the Nutrient Solution ........... 22
3.9 Mixed Fertilizers.............................. 27
3.10 pH ........................ ...... ............. 28
3.11 Mobile and Immobile Nutrients ................ 28
3.12 Nutrient Concentration and Yield ............... 29
3.13 Preparation of Nutrient Concentrates ........... 29
3.14 Foliar Nutrition ............................... 30
3.15 Nutrient Solution Analysis..................... 31
4 Culture Methods .............................. 33
4.1 General Outlines .............................. 33
4.2 The Supporting Media ......................... 34
4.3 Sand Culture - Open System .................. 40
4.4 Rockwool Culture - Open System .............. 45
4.5 Gravel Culture - Closed System ............... 56
4.6 Nutrient Film Technique (NFT)
and Water Culture - Closed System ............ 66
4.7 Water Culture - Closed System ................ 77
4.8 Bag Culture - Open Systems .................. 83
4.9 Other Systems ................................ 90
5 Water........................................ 92
5.1 General ...................................... 92
x
Contents
5.2 The Process of Osmosis ....................... 93
5.3 Transpiration ................................. 93
5.4 Irrigation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
5.5 Saline Water .................................. 96
5.6 Wastewater (Sewage) .......................... 104
6 Carbon Dioxide ............................... 108
6.1 General Observations .......................... 109
6.2 CO Sources .................................. 113
2
6.3 Economics of CO Enrichment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 116
2
7 Root Environment ............................. 117
7.1 Root Functioning ............................. 117
7.2 Relations of Nutrient Absorption ............... 119
8 Plant Growth Effects and Plant Tests ........... 123
8.1 Photosynthetic Efficiency ...................... 123
8.2 Harvest Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 123
8.3 Root-Shoot Relationships ...................... 125
8.4 Plant Tests: Choice of Tissue .................. 125
8.5 Plant Analysis ................................ 127
8.6 Disease Control ............................... 129
9 Controlling Systems ........................... 131
9.1 Controllers ................................... 131
9.2 Temperature .................................. 135
9.3 Light. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 138
9.4 Automated Fertilizer Application ............... 143
9.5 EC Controller (Conductivity) .................. 144
9.6 CO Controllers ............................... 145
2
9.7 DO Controller ................................ 145
10 Culture and Cultivation ........................ 147
10.1 Plants Adaptable to Hydroponic Culture ........ 147
10.2 Tomato ....................................... 150
10.3 Cucumber .................................... 153
10.4 Lettuce ....................................... 155
10.5 Flowers ...................................... 156
11 Establishing a Commercial Soilless Culture Unit 158
11.1 Economic Considerations ...................... 159
11.2 Increased Technical Demands on the Management 161
12 Some Future Aspects .......................... 162
12.1 Plant Nutrients. .................. ............. 162
12.2 Initial Investment ............................. 162
12.3 Growth Media ................................ 163
Contents XI
12.4 Advanced Sand-Culture Methods 163
References ......................................... 165
Appendix .......................................... 171
Subject Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193