Tag: essential and non-essential mineral elements

Culturing of plants in soil less medium is called hydroponics. Plants are raised in small tanks filled with a solution containing appropriate quantities of all mineral elements. The solution is changed from time to time. It has a mechanism for aeration and circulation. Iron is added as Fe-EDTA otherwise it gets precipitated. EDTA is a chelating agent which keeps the metal ion in the soluble state. There is no need of organic matter. Hydroponics is useful in areas having thin, infertile and dry soils. Through this technique out of season fruits and vegetables can also be grown. 

Thus the correct option is D.

The term hydroponics was coined by William Frederick Gericke.

Hydroponics is the art of growing plants in absence of soil in a nutrient medium of defined concentration. It was initiated by Von Sachs. The technique is useful because plants can be grown in a defined medium. Pests can be avoided and plants can be protected from floods and drought etc. Also plants can be protected from various soil and water pollutants. In future, when pressure on land increases due to population growth, hydroponics will emerge as highly useful technique.

• In 1860, Julius von Sachs, a prominent German botanist, demonstrated, for the first time, that plants could be grown to maturity in a defined nutrient solution in the complete absence of soil. This technique of growing plants in a nutrient solution is known as hydroponics.
• Hence Hydroponics is growing plants in a solution of mineral nutrients.
• So, the correct answer is 'Solution of mineral nutrients'.

Hydroponics requires less water than irrigation on agricultural lands.

Hydroponics is a technique of growing terrestrial plants.

Hydroponics requires 10 times less water than normal agricultural plants that require proper methods of watering. A lot of water gets evaporated from the soil or seeps deep inside the layers. But in hydroponics water requirement is just 1/10 of water requirements of traditional agriculture.

Growing medium is an important component of hydroponics.