CHALLENGES AND POSSIBILITIES IN HYDROPONICS: AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

Shailesh Solanki 1 , Nitish Gaurav 1 , Geetha Bhawani 2 and * Abhinav Kumar 3 . 1. Department of Agriculture, Noida International University, Greater Noida. 2. Department of Chemistry, Noida International University, Greater Noida. 3. IILM College of Engineering and Technology, Department of Biotechnology, KP-II, GreaterNoida. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History

Hydroponics (Greek words "hydro" water and "ponos" labour) is a technique of plant growing without soil using with mineral nutrient solutions. It is also called "Controlled environmental Agriculture" (CEA). Hydroponics, a water culture, now used in both research and commercial field. Some countries successfully implemented this technique for fast growing horticulture crops such as strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes and carnation. In this technique water culture scientists discovered that as compared to soil based growth ,hydrophonic plant system needs only small number of inorganic elements in addition to water, oxygen, and sun light to grow the plant Hydroponics farming can be a major advantage for Indian agriculture; it has the potential to produce crops in every season without soil. Such practices can help Indian farmers to increase their crop productivity even in small fragmented lands.This review paper focus on the challenges and possibilities to bring soil less farming in India to ensure its stability so that it may prove more beneficial for Indian farmers to grow crops which are 100% organic, toxic free and of better quality.

Introduction:-
Soil contains all the important components for the growth of plants. It provides nutrients; water etc. for successful growth of plants. All the important beneficial process such as nitrogen fixation, providing moisture and whole plants generation happen due to presence of soil.
Plants, however needs a large space and open field to grow whereas in the urban areas space is one of the limiting factors for any type of agriculture production. To overcome this limitation, hydroponics was developed by plant scientists recently. The term hydroponics was derived from Greek word "hydro" means water and "ponos" means labor [8]. This system is most effective to help face challenges of climate changes and also helps in production of crops and vegetable which is 100% safer to eat. For hydroponics technology, no soil is required to grow some selected demanded crops. It is also termed as (soil less culture) technique where crops are grown in liquid based nutrient rich solutions under green house.
As it is well known hydroponics does not require any soil, where root system is supported using inert medium such as clay pellets, pertile, gravels etc. [2]. The purpose behind this is to allow the plants roots to come in direct contact with nutrients solutions, while having access to oxygen, which is essential for proper growth . [9] ISSN: 2320-5407 Int. J. Adv. Res. 5 (11), 177-182 178 The global demand for foods grains and other vegetables are increasing every year. Our country India is no exception to this. This technique can be an alternative to Indian agriculture system, which still depends upon age old techniques.
Indian farmer are not much aware of hydroponics systems, as it require some skills to operate this system. The main challenge is low literacy rate among farmers, which is low and in order to prepare them, we need to guide maximum number of farmers so that those farmers could guide and teach another one.
For the farmers those have less fragmented land can perform hydroponic culture in greenhouse to increase crop productivity. In cases of crop loss by natural disaster, they must have another option of farming to survive and grow organic, pesticides free vegetables which would further enhance economic growth of our country.

Advantage of Hydroponics:-
(1) Hydroponic methods produce healthy crops with high yield, no chance of soil borne insects and pests; diseases attack or weed infestation too. (2) Soil less culture provides organic food and there is no use of pesticides and harmful toxics too.
(3) It need less space in consumption to soil garden, as plant with small root can be grown closer to each other. (4) Crops grow two times faster in hydroponics and yield is doubled leading to more production from same amount of space. Limitations:-Along with several benefits, hydroponics also has some limitations. A large scale application set up requires technical knowledge. Further set up cost is also high, which also require constant supervision. During hydroponics techniques water based diseases can easily be introduced due to poor handling. Another major limitation is that not all crops can be grown by these methods. Some examples are carrot and potatoes. Other limitations are temperature, humidity and pH.
Challenges:-Hydroponics system cost is high, so it is not affordable by poor farmers of India. It requires deep skills and practical knowledge to grow crops. Less awareness, so result is unfocused sector of agricultural in India. Providing skills and training to all types of farmers from poor to average is not an easy task. Ensure for better outcome and high yields commitment for the farmer and helping them to create interest is another reason. If the farmers willin to work in this area, and having less knowledge about system, they need to hire a horticulturist or skilled staff. And to hire a staff at affordable salary is actually a big problem.

Scope for Hydroponics in India:-
Hydroponics has been used successfully in some countries like Israel which has a dry and arid climate. Hydroponics is the fastest growing sector of agriculture, could be very useful for food production in the future. As the populat ion is increasing day by day and land decline due to poor management, people shifts their focus on new technology like Hydroponics and Aeroponics to feed nation. Due to changes in climatic factors and natural disaster like drought and floods, are some of the reasons to switch to new technology, which promises food productions safely.
179 Different techniques for soil less culture:-Large no of techniques in available for soil less culture but following factors are considered in the selection of technique.
Techniques of hydroponics:-The wick system: It is seen as most simple hydroponic system. The Wick system is described as a passive system, it means there are no moving parts. From the bottom reservoir, your specific Growth Technology nutrient solution is drawn up through a number of wicks into the growing medium. This system can use a variety of mediums, perlite, soil or coco. Fig.1:-Illustration of the wick system. Water Culture:-This system is an active system with moving parts. The roots of the plant are totally immersed into the water which contains the specific Growth nutrient. An air pump with helps oxygenate the water and allow the roots to breathe. Few plants other than lettuce can do well in this type of system.    A frame NFT -32,000 Plant/ frame-100 plants

Conclusion:-
Hydroponic systems are highly effective techniques used in several agricultural domains and also against natural calamities. However this system requires less number of workers, but still it is expensive and complex but the productivity is high. This idea can be switched to more economical method or development of some equipment can be done by the farmer or concerned person All the hydroponics system requires the P H and nutrient levels check so, knowledge of these are a must. Any nation can increase their food productivity by focusing on such system, either set up urban farms or food parks under government supervision or either in villages. This system if used in a wise manner, can lead to the self sustenability.