Aeroponics: A Polytropic Research Tool in the New Era of Agriculture
Karthik Chittibomma *
College of Agriculture, Central Agricultural University, Imphal, Manipur, India.
Nand Kishor Yadav
College of Agriculture, Central Agricultural University, Imphal, Manipur, India.
Merugu Ganesh Reddy
College of Agriculture, Central Agricultural University, Imphal, Manipur, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aeroponics is a technique of cultivating or culturing plants in the absence of soil or a consolidated medium. It is that the plant is just grown in the moist air or mist medium to transmit the nutrients required by plants. To be honest I call is as a tool for research and commercial production activities because when we talk about practical application there will be many aspects for consideration such as orientation, site selection, skilled technicians, economic costs weather, and climate mainly the traditional farmers. All these operations cannot be handled by a small and simple farmer with ease, this is the reason for the current trend of aeroponics which is new to people and being practically utilized only for research, aesthetics, and for commercial purposes. Aeroponics need special structures which can maintain a controlled environment for the fulfillment of all the basic and required conditions by the plants being studied or grown inside. It requires proper equipment like aeroponic growth chambers, phytosanitary conditions, cooling mechanization, etc. aeroponics has many uses as they can be grown in less space, are useful for seed production, and used in parks and restaurants for ambiance, can grow crops extraterrestrial, pollution free but can’t be termed as organic as it is grown without the soil but yes, we can say it organically as there is no use of chemical fertilizer or pesticide n herbicides. There is a big debate going on this outside but this is just what my perspective is. Further development should come up for the sustainability of aeroponics as a medium for agricultural practice.
Keywords: Phytosanitary, extraterrestrial, sustainable, hydroponics, precision agriculture, seed production, commercial propagation