Hydroponics: review paper

Abstract

The tremendous world population growth has led to an increase in the global demand for food and the expansion of agricultural activity, which has increased pressure on available water and soil resources, which are already limited. It will become impossible to feed the world’s population in the near future using traditional farming systems and it is important to improve and develop the way we produce our food using more advanced production techniques. It has become imperative to increase food production from current farmland by using fewer inputs to reduce pressure on natural resources without undermining our capacity to produce more food. Hydroponics represents the ideal solution, it is a growing industry that has not yet reached its full potential and has been successfully used in cultivating a variety of crops such as lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, leafy greens, and flowers. In hydroponics, plants are grown without using soil as a growing medium and fertilizers provided through nutrient solutions. Advantages of soilless cultivation is its high yield in a limited area, saving water and fertilizers, and it can also be used in places where it is impossible to carry out any agricultural activity or areas characterized by severe soil degradation. The soilless farming approach represents an enabling response towards more environmentally friendly agriculture and a promising tool in the field of food security. In this review article we tried to explain soilless farming, its benefits, history, components, types, and future.