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Nowadays technology has overtaken every facet of life and farming is no different. Here, hydroponic farming takes the lead as a smart and efficient form of farming that is overtaking soil farming due to many credentials especially a better environment. Following that, let us explore how hydroponics is helping with our planet sustainability. However, there are certain things like Accessibility, Chemical use, Yield, Erosion, Conservation and Energy Efficiency which provide interesting points of comparison from Soil farming. So, let us dig into some of the reliable details.
Hydroponic farming is much more accessible than soil farming as it requires less space and can be set up in urban areas as opposed to soil farming that requires plots of land while also requiring heavy machinery on top of that.
Due to hydroponic farming having a controlled environment and being indoors there is less risk of pests which in turn leads to less usage of pesticides resulting in less chemical usage by upwards of 90 percent as opposed to soil farming where the risk of infestation is high.
Thanks to hydroponic farming farmers can control the amount of nutrients and environment as per the crops needs those results in faster growth sometimes as much as 25 percent which leads to increased crop yield. This leads to much less waste which can be a problem with soil farming.
Soil farming requires a lot of water usage and also requires farming practices such as ploughing which can lead to soil erosion. This erosion makes soil less fertile while also causing degradation which can be harmful to the environment whereas hydroponic farming does not require using soil so it results in zero cases of soil erosion. Soil degradation currently costs 40 billion dollars annually a figure which can be reduced through hydroponic farming.
Hydroponic farming requires less amount of water as the system can recirculate the water as needed while in Soil farming farmers usually use a large amount of water because a large amount of water is lost before it reaches its intended destination.
Hydroponic systems use 70 percent less energy as compared to Soil farming due to the controlled environment reducing the need for excess energy through the usage of led based grow lights which consume much less energy while soil farming can require usage of heavy machinery that uses a lot more energy.
As hydroponic farms are indoor and usually in urban areas the travel time and length for crop yields is significantly reduced, suppliers have to travel less to make deliveries which in turn cuts the overall carbon emissions by a staggering 80 percent leading to a cleaner environment.
Hydroponic systems require less amount of water for crops up to 90 percent less in fact as the water gets recirculated whenever needed while in traditional soil farming farmers use large amounts of water as most of the water is lost before it reaches the crops. Studies have shown that hydroponics use 20 litres of water per kg of produce when compared to soil farming which requires 400 litres of water per kg of produce.
Soil farming requires usage of heavy machinery that use a huge amount of energy as opposed to hydroponic systems that are much more energy efficient using equipment such as led grow lights which use 40-70 percent less energy as compared to past lighting solutions.
Due to hydroponic farming being indoors and in a controlled environment there isn’t a risk of pests which leads to a reduction in usage of chemicals such as pesticides as compared to soil farming which is more susceptible to infestations. According to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) hydroponic systems use 90 percent less chemicals.
Hydroponic systems maximize growth of crops as a farmer can control the amount of nutrients and manipulate the environment to be optimal for growth which can lead to up to 30 percent reduction in wasted crops as reported by National Renewable Energy Laboratory or NREL.
Thanks to the nature of hydroponic systems needing a controlled environment for growth, crops can be grown without having to wait for the right season or weather conditions which helps in sustaining their growth year-round.
Hydroponic farms require less area than soil farming, farmers can even use vertical integration to increase the number of systems per farm without needing to use more land. Just a single acre can produce yields which are equivalent to 4-6 acres of soil farming.
As a matter of fact the methods of farming in the form of Soil and Hydroponics are having their own merits and demerits but the current era is all about the advancements, therefore Hydroponics totally rely on the patterns of modern world. Consequently, to find the most realistic platform for hydroponic products CannB is your go to go place for better quality products accordingly.
