Aeroponics
What is Aeroponics? According to WIKI, Aeroponics is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil or an aggregate medium. Aeroponic culture differs from both hydroponics and in-vitro (Plant tissue culture) growing. Unlike hydroponics, which uses water as a growing medium and essential minerals to sustain plant growth, aeroponics is conducted without a growing medium.
The word aeroponic is derived from the Greek meanings of ‘aero’ (air) and ‘ponic’ (labour). Aeroponic growth refers to growth achieved in an air culture. For example, in tropical climates orchids develop and grow freely in trees Laboratory research on air culture growing utilizing vapors began in the mid-1940s. Today aeroponics is used in agriculture around the globe.
Basic Principles of Aeroponics
The basic principle of aeroponic growing is to grow plants in a closed or semi-closed environment by spraying the plant’s roots with a nutrient rich solution. Ideally, the environment is kept free from pests and disease so that the plants may grow healthier and quicker than plants grown in a medium. However, since most aeroponic environments are not perfectly closed off to the outside, pests and disease may still cause a threat. These conditions advance plant development, health, growth, flowering and fruiting for any given plant species and cultivars. Oxygen in the rhizosphere (root zone) is necessary for healthy plant growth. As aeroponics is conducted in air combined with micro-droplets of water, almost any plant can grow to maturity in air with a plentiful supply of oxygen, water and nutrients.
Some growers favor aeroponic systems over other methods of hydroponics because the increased aeration of nutrient solution delivers more oxygen to plant roots, stimulating growth and helping to prevent pathogen formation.
Methods
Aeroponics refers to the method of growing crops with their roots suspended in a misted nutrient solution.
Aeroponics is a form of hydroponic technique. Water is the sole nutrient carrier and typically the method is not hybridized with geoponic technique; although due to the sensitivity of root systems aeroponics is often combined with conventional hydroponics which is used as an emergency ‘crop saver’ -backup nutrition and water supply- if the aeroponic apparatus fails.
In an aeroponic system the plant’s rootzone is suspended into an environment where the roots protrude into an atomized nutrient solution; the leaves and crown, often called the “canopy”, extending above. The roots of the plant are separated by the plant support structure. The lowest stem and root system are sprayed or misted for short durations with a hydro-atomized pure water/nutrient solution.
One of the more singular aspects of aeroponic growing is the frequent omission of media, whether organic or not, for anchoring the plant. Many times closed cell foam is compressed around the lower stem and inserted into an opening in the aeroponic chamber, which decreases labor and expense; for larger plants, trellising is used to suspend the weight of vegetation and fruit.
Ecological advantages
Aeroponic growing is considered to be safe and ecologically friendly for producing natural, healthy plants and crops. The main ecological advantages of aeroponics are the conservation of water and energy. When compared to hydroponics, aeroponics offers lower water and energy inputs per sq meter of growing area.
Apparatus
The first commercially available aeroponic apparatus was manufactured and marketed by GTi in 1983. It was known then as the Genesis Machine – taken from the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The Genesis Machine was marketed as the ‘Genesis Rooting System’.
GTi’s device incorporated an open-loop water driven apparatus, controlled by a microchip, and delivered a hi-psi, hydro-atomized nutrient spray inside an aeroponic chamber.
At the time, the achievement was revolutionary in terms of a developing (artificial air culture) technology. The Genesis Machine simply connected to a water faucet and an electrical outlet.