AGRICULTURE Jr. Jones, Complete Guide for Complete Guide for Growing Plants Hydroponically Hydroponically Plants Growing for Guide Complete Growing Plants With the continued implementation of new equipment and new concepts and methods, such Hydroponically as hydroponics and soilless practices, crop growth has improved and become more effcient. Focusing on the basic principles and practical growth requirements, the Complete Guide for Growing Plants Hydroponically offers valuable information for the commercial grower, the researcher, the hobbyist, and the student interested in hydroponics. It provides details on methods of growing that are applicable to a range of environmental growing systems. The author begins with an introduction that covers the past, present, and future of hydroponics. He also describes the basic concepts behind how plants grow, followed by several chapters that present in-depth practical details for hydroponic growing systems: • The essential plant nutrient elements • The nutrient solution • Rooting media • Systems of hydroponic culture • Hydroponic application factors These chapters cover the nutritional requirements of plants and how to best prepare and use nutrient solutions to satisfy plant requirements with different growing systems and rooting media under a variety of conditions. The book gives many nutrient solution formulas and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various hydroponic systems. It also contains a chapter that describes a school project, which students can follow to generate nutrient element defciency symptoms and monitor their effects on plant growth. K13563 6000 Broken Sound Parkway, NW Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487 711 Third Avenue New York, NY 10017 an informa business 2 Park Square, Milton Park www.crcpress.com Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN, UK www.crcpress.com J. Benton Jones, Jr. K13563_cover.indd 1 12/16/13 1:41 PM Complete Guide for Growing Plants Hydroponically Complete Guide for Growing Plants Hydroponically J. Benton Jones, Jr. GroSystems, Inc. Anderson, South Carolina, USA Boca Raton London New York CRC Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 © 2014 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business No claim to original U.S. Government works Version Date: 20130923 International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4398-7669-5 (eBook - PDF) This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. 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Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com Contents List of Figures ....................................................................................................ix List of Tables ................................................................................................... xiii Preface ............................................................................................................. xvii About the Author ............................................................................................xix Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................. 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 Hydroponics defned ......................................................................................... 1 Is hydroponics a science? .................................................................................. 3 Hydroponic terminology .................................................................................. 4 Historical past ..................................................................................................... 5 The future of hydroponics .............................................................................. 10 Hydroponic practice and the art of hydroponics ........................................ 11 Value of the hydroponic method ................................................................... 12 Internet .............................................................................................................. 13 Units of measure .............................................................................................. 13 Abbreviations ................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2 How plants grow .......................................................................17 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 17 Photosynthesis .................................................................................................. 18 Soil fertility factors ........................................................................................... 19 The plant root ................................................................................................... 21 Water content and uptake ............................................................................... 23 Ion uptake ......................................................................................................... 27 Root surface chemistry .................................................................................... 30 Chapter 3 The essential plant nutrient elements .................................. 31 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 31 Terminology ...................................................................................................... 31 Criteria for essentiality .................................................................................... 34 The major elements .......................................................................................... 35 The micronutrients .......................................................................................... 36 © 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC v vi Contents Content in plants .............................................................................................. 37 Function in plants ............................................................................................ 38 Forms of utilization ......................................................................................... 38 The benefcial elements ................................................................................... 39 Cobalt (Co) .................................................................................................... 40 Silicon (Si) ..................................................................................................... 42 Nickel (Ni) .................................................................................................... 42 Vanadium (V) ............................................................................................... 43 Element substitution ........................................................................................ 43 Visual plant symptoms of elemental defciency or excess .........................43 Chapter 4 The nutrient solution ............................................................... 49 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 49 Water quality .................................................................................................... 50 Water pH ........................................................................................................... 53 Water and nutrient solution fltering and sterilization............................... 53 Weights and measures .................................................................................... 55 Nutrient solution reagents .............................................................................. 55 Nutrient solution