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Keyanna Kinloch February 28, 2012 Environmentors Hydroponics and Its Scientific Application Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil. Plants are simply placed in water with the necessary chemicals. As plants are deprived of support from the ground, they will fall down. To support the plants, an inert material like expanded clay pebbles are used in a pot in the tank. Before inserting a plant in a hydroponics system, you must carefully remove all soil from the roots otherwise bacteria and mold will begin growing on the plant . This cultivation method has the advantages of both requiring less frequent watering and using very little water.

With this system you can grow nearly any houseplant or vegetable.

Hydroponics is useful also to show what nutrition plants need. During the past several decades, many amateur and commercial gardeners have become interested in growing plants with their roots in an artificial medium instead of soil. This method of growing plants is commonly known as "hydroponics." It is also sometimes referred to as nutrient-solution culture, soil less culture, water culture, and gravel culture. It is not to be confused with aquaponics, which is somewhat akin to hydroponics.

Soil less culture of plants is not new. One of the first experiments in water culture was made by Woodward in England in 1699. He was trying to determine whether water or the solid portion of the soil was responsible for plant growth. By the mid-nineteenth century, Sachs and Knop had developed a method of growing plants without soil.

In the late 1920's and early 1930's, Dr. W. F. Gericke was able to grow plants successfully on a large scale through the laboratory technique of solution culture. Dr. Gericke used the term "hydroponics" to describe this method of growing plants. Today, hydroponics is used in commercial production, but it is employed mostly in those areas where soil is lacking or unsuitable for plant growth. Hydroponics is also a tool in plant research as well as a fascinating hobby.

Hydroponics can be applied to the scientific field in many ways. The first would be that it could be used in a place of the traditional soil method. It could be used in countries that have an abundance of water or a lack of nutrient rich soil. Hydroponic set up range from extremely simple to a complicated system able to support a whole garden of plants. I think hydroponics is a valuable way to grow plants because it allows young students to grow plants easily and it is a good hobby.