All farming endeavours are by definition somewhat risky. Since the beginning of civilization, farmers have had to deal with adversity. Bad weather conditions, poor soil, inadequate water supplies, soil borne plant diseases, transportation complication, cut throat competition etc. Hydroponics helps to overcome some of these barricades to successful farming. By proper management, you provide the crop adequate mineral nutrients and oxygen as well as a reliable water supply to promote strong growth. Such vibrant plants are much more resistant to insect infestation and disease.
According to a research carried by Naomi Chelimo in Van Den Berg, Naivasha, hydroponics saves on water, fertilizer while ensuring better quality and quantity of roses. Worth mentioning are 56% less Water, 44% lower fertilizer costs, 41% more stems, 65% more production in stems of weight and 20% longer stems.
Commutatively, the grower will get 43% higher turnover. Though this will increase the cost of capitalization, but based on these results the payback period for the additional investment cost (calculated excluding costs of financing) is within the second year for a 6 ha production area.
For several years, Kenyan growers adopted it with every new project going into hydroponics and some of the old uprooting and re-planting in hydroponics. But for the last few years the trend has been changing. Most of the new farms are starting in soil and some of the old uprooting and going back to soil.
So, what is making growers make a step back from this unique opportunity to generate substantial profits and participate in an economic boom? Is it the initial capital? But it will be paid in 2 years. Is it lack of the technology? But suppliers in the country provide after sales support. So what is it?
In the next few issues, I will interview experts, researchers, suppliers, production managers and farm owners in depth to discuss the reason, on a three part article.
Growers Experiences
To start us off is Mr. Michael Gathage, a specialist grower.
Florinews: Give a single statement on Hydroponics
Michael: Ideas and ideals are easy to discuss in theoretical terms, but it is the specifics that make the difference between success and failure and the difference between a marginal income and a substandard one.
Florinews: Discuss why hydroponics
Michael: Naturally, plants are grown on soil. However with continued use of all arable soils, something had to be done to continue enjoying maximum benefits. This saw the invention of hydroponics a system that allows growers to start a farm anywhere including rocky soils that could not be used before.
Additionally, this is a system which was meant for growers not to interfere with the environment, contaminate soil bodies and interfere with natural conditions of soil. With this, it was a great success for growers who were left to consider other factors but not soil when starting a farm.
Florinews: Based on your Knowledge, do you think Hydroponics is the way to go in Kenyan Growing?
Michael: Am tempted to say YES, but different growers may look at it differently, making it a debatable issue. To back my answer, allow me to discuss:
System Design: This is where you determine whether your venture should be profitable or disastrous. The initial construction of the irrigation systems to the hydroponic system should not compromise the normal growth of a plant. This should consider water drainage to ensure proper aeration on the root system. The water circulation must also be well planned to ensure proper amounts of water is received by the plants. Failure to get this right has forced some growers believe that hydroponics does not work a statement cropping slowly into the industry.
Knowledge and Technical Know-how: Success is based on the knowledge you have on water, the media, weather, pests and disease, and the crop.
Water: The drip solution combines three things; the mother solution, recycled solution and plain water. It is important to understand the ratios to enable you achieve the right EC. When irrigating, you send a drip solution whose uptake should be between 45% and 55%. Then you will collect back drain solution. It is important to analyse all this so as to determine your cycle, whether an hour or after two hours. The EC of drainage solution vis a vis the drip solution EC portrays the uptake trend by the plants. The ideal drip EC during hot weather period is 1.7-1.8 when water uptake by the plants is high and EC of 2.0-2.4 during cold weather period when the water uptake is low The ideal supply PH is 5.5-6.5 where most of the elements are in an available form to be taken by the plants.
Media: Currently in Kenya, coco peat and pumice are the most common systems used. Recently, a research on a combination of both was carried and therefore some farms could be combining both. Murram is also been used in some farms. For a start, to use murram, you must be hands on manager and very smart on your hourly drainage analysis for the percentage drainage are crucial. Like murram, Pumice also has a fast drainage capacity but water holding capacity is better than murruam. The coarse pumice is put at the base of the trough to enhance drainage and the fine pumice on the top. Most growers in Kenya uses pumice as it is readily available. The pumice as growing media is used for anchorage purpose for the plan. The nutrients required by the plants are supplied through irrigation systems. There are many irrigation systems in the market used enhance efficient of feeding the plants Coco peat is another media used in growing of plants, it is mostly used in propagation, pot plants and some growers mix it with pumice.
Coco peat has a higher water holding capacity compared with pumice. The feeding strategy for the different media is different. The end result is to ensure the nutrients required by the plants are supplied within conducive environment in the root zone for health growth of the plants.
Weather: Respiration and transpiration is a key factor in success growing. In hydroponics, it is more crucial. In good weather, the uptake is high while in cold weather, there is low assimilation and may end up having a very concentrated drip solution.
Pests and Diseases: Unlike many believes, nematodes is a serious disease in hydroponics. Nematodes are found in water. In hydroponics water is recycled from one greenhouse to another. After draining, nematodes are left hence recycled to other greenhouses. To stop this, the water should be treated well. Some of the systems locally used may not be very successful. However, UV treatment is commented for killing all the viruses and bacteria in the recycled solution.
Crop: Different crops and varieties have different needs. Additionally, the different stage of the crop also determines the needs. During vegetative growth 8 From page 6 Floriculture . March - April 2016 stage the plant nutrients demand is high as compared to flowering stage.
Management Factor: An important starting point is to realize that hydroponics is not magic. Despite the impressions sometimes given hydroponics does not “give total control of the plant.” When using hydroponic technique, additional skills are needed to manage the system. The fertigation manager should be hands on manager.
Double Loss: In hydroponics there is no room for a mistake. A single mistake may cost you double loss. When you delay a cycle, flowers start bending. In case of power failure and you have no serious power back up; a two days failure is enough for you to forget the crop. It is not a forgiving system.
Finance Management: Additionally, growers need to understand budgeting and accounting. This will ensure they understand the cost units and eliminate the assumption that hydroponics is expensive. Record keeping must be up to date leaving no gaps for misrepresentation.
Balance Crop, Environment and Nutrition: Take care not to be fooled that ´´hydroponics give total control of the crop”. This is nonsense, hydroponics influences the root system of the plant, but the upper part is influenced by the environment. How a plant grows is influenced by factors such as temperature, light level, competition etc. So before you declare “hydroponics does not work”, a grower must also ensure these other factors are right. Reliable refrigeration in your cold stores is very important, especially when the ambient temperature is high and varies. As a leading global manufacturer of refrigeration compressors BITZER has a wide product range, which offers the fitting solution for every application: reliably, efficiently and to high German quality standards.
Better Control: Hydroponic maintain high levels of hygiene and has a quick start and better control. When in hydroponics, you can notice the problem immediately, arrest it and the crop recuperates quickly.
Florinews: Growers have argued about the high costs in hydroponics, what is your take?
Michael: It is true both the initial and running costs are very high. However, the payback time when well managed is very little. The quality maintenance is good and your customers will be assured of the best. Three things have been raised by growers; high feeding costs, no feeding control, short term results and high power costs. I wouldn’t want to dispute any of this but I still believe it boils back to proper management.
High Feeding Cost: Growers argue feeding of the crop is very expensive compared to soil. Despite the fertilizer drain which is available for re-use, the initial application investment is higher. This could be true but how about the crop you get.
No Feeding Control: Growers have no control on feeding when using hydroponics, however in soil one can slow and minimize feeding during low season. In some farms, they even use the traditional fertilizers like NPK, manure etc. Again this could also be true; however this depends on your market planning and also what you need to give the market.
Short Term: Most rose varieties grown in Kenya have an average life span of 7years. Hydroponics gives better yields for the first four years. From the fifth year the grower does not experience any difference in yield though the running costs remain higher. This leaves the grower with a higher input and same output with soil hence unmanageable.
This is a myth, for I believe more needs to be done to understand whether it is the system or the plant. I believe, it is the plant that is aging and needs to be changed.
Conclusion
More attention should be given to plant nutrition. Most growers concentrate a lot on crop protection than nutrition. But it is important to understand that a healthy crop is disease resistant crop.
Crop management practices such as fertigation, irrigation; pruning, pinching, and disbudding are of great influence in levelling the number of stems and total fresh weight in soil and hydroponics systems. Consequently, stem length, leaf length expansion, and flower head diameter and width do not differ significantly between both systems.
The most important thing to note is that the market of flowers is available for the growers who are ready to go an extra mile and offer high quality flowers.
So are these reasons enough for growers to go back into soil? Is there anything researchers can do to cushion all this? Read our next issue.
Mr. Michael Gathage is Specialist in Rose Growing. He has wealth of experience in growing, breeding, and propagating. He has also worked as a technical person in an agrochemical company. He has 18 years working experience in the flower industry
