Soil-less vegetable cultivation: A review

Abstract

Soil-less cultivation is a new advanced method for improving cultivation of different vegetable crops. It is a method of growing vegetables without the using soil as a rooting medium, in which the inorganic nutrients absorbed by the roots are supplied through irrigation water. It includes hydroponics, aeroponics and aquaponics. Hydroponics is the growing of vegetables in an fed with a solution containing a mixture of macro and micro-nutrients. Aquaponics is the technique in which, aquatic animals such as snails, fish, crayfish, prawns, etc., are grown in tanks with combination of hydroponics with vegetables are grown in water in a symbiotic environment. In aeroponics system, sealed root chamber is used as reservoir for nutrient solution where the plants above the reservoir cover with polystyrene/other material. It must be supported or hanged through holes in the expanded cover and are misted with nutrient solution to keep it always moist. Soil- less cultivation has been followed in number of vegetables such as, tomato, chilli, brinjal, green bean, bell pepper, cauliflower, cucumber, melons, radish, onion, lettuce, beet, winged beans, water spinach, spinach, coriander, and so on. Soil-less cultivation helps in early nursery raising and easy management, production of healthy vegetable seedlings free from disease, insects and pest. It has various benefits like; year-round production and off season, higher productivity and uniform quality, management of insect-pests, diseases and weeds is easier which helps in more efficient and less use of resources. Soil less cultivation has huge potential to become popular in upcoming future generation. This advance technologies and techniques involved in soilless vegetable cultivation can be said as next-generation crop science hence, it can open a doorway to establish a new civilization in outer space.