Floriculture now has become the most fashionable and profitable
activity during last few decade. The world statistical data shows that the contribution
of developing countries is not more than 15-20% in floriculture industry. Pakistan
has small farming lands, and floriculture is the best option for good profit. Asia
has good climate and inexpensive labor for growing floricultural crops. They
need less land, water, fertilizer and other practices for production.
SOILLESS MEDIA IS THE HYDROPONICS
Even though, any flower crop can be grown in soil less arrangement
but the most commonly and generally grown flowers are Roses, Lilies and
Carnations. The reason for growing these crops is that they give maximum
benefit to the grower. The order of these three flowers are much more than the
other ones.
SOILLESS ROSE
PRODUCTION
Rose has huge importance and gives the grower a dramatic
range of colors. Shades from the deep moist reds mostly demanded on Valentine’s
Day, to lively yellows and full pink all are perfect for any event.
Most of the hydroponic users that grow roses make use of NFT
(nutrient film technique) because this is the most useful and manageable. Any
kind of roses can be grown using this approach. These could be shrub roses or
the climbing roses type. Even some modern varieties such as long stemmed roses
can also be grown. Green house may be a good place if you want to bring in
natural light to your plants. Growing media that is used for
soilless rose production are mostly rockwool, perlite, coco fibre, zeolite and peat,
which are suggested. Cautious management of the pH level of your hydroponic system
is most important
Sand culture for the production of carnations in hydroponics
is proved very successful. The plants are grown in pots mostly filled with the
sand and provided with nutrient salts in specific quantities and at proper
intervals. The basic nutrients that are required are nitrogen, phosphorus and
potassium. Various types of sand are available and used for this work, but most
of the growers prefer a sharp and river sand. There are different formulae of nutrient salts,
which are recommended for use according to the season of the year.
SOILLESS LILIUMS PRODUCTION
Lilium crop generally need the granulated substrate to make
easy the digging and planting progress of the bulb.
For lilies in hydroponics, a tray of about 50 cm long and 35
cm wide is placed on a plastic pool liner in which an exhaust pipe has been
laid previously.
Drip irrigation system is used and to maintain the
temperature heating and cooling pipes are used.
LIMITATIONS OF THIS
SYSTEM
Some of the barriers of this system are:
• Need a lot of care as minor mistake
can destroy the whole crop.
• It needs more investments.
• Technical information and management
is necessary.
• It is not an appropriate production
system for all flower crops.
Overall, soilless/Hydroponic system is very beneficial for us
because there is an efficient utilization of input and there is no need to
depend upon the farmland. Moreover, the production can be increased many times
and the quality of the product meets the international standards.
