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Agriculture vocabulary · Greenhouse Production

Hydroponics

Meaning in agriculture, with examples

/ˌhaɪdrəˈpɑːnɪks/nounCommon term

In agriculture, hydroponics means: A method of growing plants without soil, with the roots in a nutrient solution or in an inert material such as rockwool, perlite or coco coir.

In Turkish: topraksız tarım, hidroponik, su kültürü

How it is used

Common in modern greenhouses for tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, strawberries and lettuce. Growers manage the nutrient solution by EC and pH. The adjective is 'hydroponic' (hydroponic tomatoes, a hydroponic system).

Example sentences

  1. Hydroponics lets us grow tomatoes in the same greenhouse without soil diseases building up.

  2. The new hydroponic lettuce farm uses about 90 percent less water than field production.

Common collocations

  • hydroponic system
  • hydroponic tomatoes
  • nutrient solution
  • soilless culture
  • rockwool slabs
  • greenhouseA building with a glass or plastic cover in which plants are grown under controlled temperature, humidity and light, often out of season.
  • growing mediumThe material in which plants grow instead of or in addition to soil, such as peat, perlite, coco peat or rockwool, used in pots, trays and greenhouse beds.
  • fertigationThe application of dissolved fertilizers through an irrigation system, usually drip, so that nutrients reach the roots with the water.
  • seedlingA young plant grown from seed, especially one raised in a tray or nursery before being planted out in the field or greenhouse.
  • pathogenA microorganism such as a fungus, bacterium or virus that causes disease in plants or animals.

More terms: Greenhouse Production

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