Hydroponic - Which Crops Grow Better in Nutrient Film Technique and Tower Garden?.

Hydroponic is a modern-day agriculture also known as urban agriculture. It does not require soil therefore it is also known as soilless agriculture. It is a good alternative for producing healthy crops and vegetables, free from soil borne pathogens as it is not growing on soil. Does every crop perform well on hydroponic systems? To know this answer we carried out this experiment on five different crops (strawberry, bok choy, romaine, red sail and butter lettuce) in our newly developed hydroponic systems (nutrient film techniques, and vertical tower garden). To compare their growth we planted them on raised soil bed even though plants performs better on raised soil beds above on the ground soil. To compare the growth parameter of all plants we collected data at the regular interval on plant height and leaf number. We also measured the yield for each crop at the end of the experiment. Growth of all five crops were faster on hydroponic systems in comparison to soil. Within 30 days of transplanting all vegetable crops (bok choy and all 3 types of lettuces) were ready to harvest. While in the soil these crops took at least 65 days to reach to the same stage of growth. The growth of strawberry in hydroponics and raised bed were almost similar. Between the two types of hydroponics we tried, all of them performed well on ‘nutrient film technique’ however romaine lettuce and red sail lettuce grew faster on ‘tower garden’ system. Statistical analysis of growth and yield of all crops will be presented.