RAJIV GANDHI INSTITUTE OF VETERINARY

EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

NUTRITION TRACKING PROGRAMME

HYDROPONICS
Final report

Submittted to:
Dr. N. Elanchezian, M.V.Sc, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Animal Nutrition
 Members
 Imtilong longkumer
 Haripriya
 Limainla Longchar
 Sai Mounica
 Sreedhar.k
 Sumathi
 Sushmita
 Vishnu Priya
 Umamaheshwarry

PAGE 1
INTRODUCTION
Hydroponics comes from latin, meaning ‘water working’. It is the science of
growing plants without soil using water. Like technology, gardening sector is
also changing. People are now switching to soil less gardening technique,
popularly known as Hydroponics. If you have ever kept a plant clipping in a
glass of water, expecting it will generate roots, then you have practiced
hydroponics. It’s an example of organic gardening, in which plants are grown in
nutrient solution, instead of soil.

By practicing hydroponic gardening, gardeners don’t have to worry about –

weeding, soil borne diseases, when to fertilize, spraying pesticides, labors of
cultivation, tilling, soil texture, and more. It offers an easy way of growing
fruits and vegetables and crops that are healthier and have more nutritive
value. With hydroponic gardening you can expect big, better results in short
span of time, as nutrients are dissolved in water and directly fed to roots.

ADVANTAGES OF HYDROPONIC GARDENING:

 Through hydroponic gardening; plants can be grown anywhere as long as
their growth requirements are met.
 It uses only 1/20th of water compared to traditional (soil based)
gardening.
 It provides a sterile environment for plant production. This technique
does not require pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals, as there’s no
chance of damage due to soil-borne diseases or pests.

PAGE 2
 Crops grow two times faster in hydroponic gardening. It provides
controlled environment, and yield is doubled leading to more production
from same amount of space.
 It needs 20% of less space in comparison to soil based gardens, as plants
with small roots can be grown closer to each other.
 Run-off in traditional gardening can lead to environment degradation due
to high proportion of calcium, phosphorous and potassium content
dissolved in it. But in hydroponic systems; water can be reused multiple
times leading to water conservation with less expense incurred on it.
 There’s no-doubt in the fact that hydroponics involves less labor. Upkeep
is also minimal.
 It’s simple to get complete control over nutrient balance by using
solutions .
 There are no soil setup and testing hassles.
 Plants grown through this technique are healthy and have better
nutritional value. It has been proved that vitamin content is 50% more in
hydroponically grown plants as compared to conventional ones.
 It is easy to harvest in this type of gardening.
 There are no worries about the changing seasons, as crops can be grown
all year round.
 Hydroponic gardening is amazingly stress-relieving and a relaxing hobby.
Moreover it is a great way to spend quality family time.

PAGE 3
DISADVANTAGES OF HYDROPONIC GARDENING:
 Initial set up cost of hydroponic system is high. It requires constant
supervision.
 These gardens can also become susceptible to power outage; in this case
plants will dry out. If this ever happens, you have to manually water your
garden.
 Water-based microorganism can be easily introduced.
 Technical knowledge is required for growing plants through hydroponics.

PAGE 4
 HYDROPONICS
 The nutrition tracking programme on hydroponics was started on
May 25th 2017.
 Maize seeds was chosen for the programme.
 The seeds were grown on aluminium trays.
 Water mixed with different nutrient supplements was sprayed and
results were obtained.
 The urea and NPK fertilizers were used for our project work.

PAGE 5
 PROCEDURE:
1.Soaking:
o Soak the seeds in water for 24 hours.

2.Sprouting:
o Tie the soaked seeds in a wet cloth, the seeds will sprout in
24 hours.

PAGE 6
 DAY 1:
o Spread the sprouted seeds in the tray in such a way that the seeds
are in close contact and are uniformly distributed.
o Spray water for every 2 hours.
o Keep the tray in a shady place away from sunlight with proper
ventilation in room temperature.

 DAY 2:
o Continue spraying water for every 2 hours for the upcoming days.
o Avoid water stagnation.

PAGE 7
 DAY 3:

 DAY 4:

 DAY 5:
o The supplements are mixed with water and sprayed for once.

PAGE 8
 DAY 6:

 DAY 7:

PAGE 9
RESULTS:
 Trials were done by using the following solutions
1. Water
2. Water + urea
3. Water + NPK

Results obtained are as follows:

SL.NO SUPPLEMENT INITIAL WEIGHT(g) FINAL WEIGHT(g)

1 WATER 500 863

WATER 500 675
WATER 500 775
AVERAGE 771
2 NPK 500 722
NPK 500 756
NPK 500 670
AVERAGE 716
3 UREA 500 1461
UREA 500 876
UREA 500 924
AVERAGE 1087

 From the above results it is observed that maximum output was

obtained when urea was sprayed as a supplemental solution as
compared with the normal water and NPK fertilizers.
DIFFICULTIES FACED:

1. Maggots were found sometimes due to poor ventilation and

water stagnation.
2. Some trials were unsuccessful due to poor quality of seeds.

PAGE 10
CONCLUSION
There are numerous benefits of hydroponic cultivation. Its
practice can yield excellent results in short span of time with
proper knowledge and techniques. Various environmental
concerns, like reduction in agricultural land, and scarcity of water
can be easily conquered with the use of hydroponics. It is
extremely beneficial for commercial farmers and home
gardeners alike.

PAGE 11