Role of hydroponics in paddy nursery for water conservation to promote food security and environmental sustainability

Abstract

Water and food are basic necessities of life with water being the vital key for food production. Paddy is a water-guzzling crop cultivated in more than 100 countries worldwide and consumed by over half of the global population. Paddy cultivation is mostly through traditional irrigation methods which leads to low water use efficiency coupled with many environmental problems. Paddy consumes 34 to 43% of the global irrigation water and with the rising global population, the increase in demand for rice production along with the shortage of water supply has led to a severe water crisis in rice-cultivating countries. By employing various water-wise approaches like drip irrigation, alternate wetting and drying methods, hydroponics technology water usage can be reduced in paddy cultivation. Usage of Hydroponics technology where crops are cultivated in a soil-less nutrient medium is promising and the Pro Green Hydroponic machine developed by ARF has successfully demonstrated the saving of water while raising paddy nurseries. This technology saves on water, land, time and labor to raise paddy seedlings. The article discusses the benefits of adopting hydroponics technology to raise paddy nurseries.