AN INTRODUCTION TO HYDROPONICS  (English, Paperback, Dr. A. Anami Augustus Arul, amp, C. Prasanna Kumari)

Sustainable agriculture is primarily concerned with methods that lessen reliance on nonrenewable or environmentally hazardous inputs. Hydroponics is one such method of growing plants without soil, here nutrition and water mixture compensate for what the soil can essentially do in the growing process. Plants produced in hydroponics take up 20% less room than plants grown on soil. Soil quality varies greatly from one region to the next, and many plants have strong preferences for specific soil types, while hydroponics has no such restrictions. Hydroponic plants can grow with only 5-10% of the water required for soil-grown plants. This method can be used to raise organic vegetables without the use of soil contaminants.