Hydroponic vegetable growing

Povećanje zahtjeva tržišta za povrćem izvan sezone utjecalo je na proširenje hidroponske proizvodnje i u Hrvatskoj. Kako bi osigurali kontinuiranu proizvodnju povrća tijekom cijele godine, naši domaći proizvođači počeli su uvoditi hidroponsku proizvodnju povrća. Poznato je da se hidroponska proizvodnja počela primjenjivati u uvjetima u kojima nije bilo dovoljno obradivog tla ili je obradivo tlo bilo iscrpljeno i nedovoljno plodno ili pak kontaminirano i nepovoljno za uzgoj povrća. Hidropon doslovno znači „rad vode“, ali u praktičnom smislu predstavlja tehniku uzgoja biljaka bez supstrata ili s inertnim supstratom kojem su dodana sva potrebna hraniva. Proizvodnjom povrća bez tla nastojalo se izbjeći mjesto nastanka bolesti i rasta korova, te postići precizna kontrola ishrane bilja. Glavni je cilj hidroponske tehnologije osigurati svakoj biljnoj vrsti u određenoj fazi rasta potrebnu količinu hraniva i optimalne mikroklimatske uvjete, radi postizanja maksimalnih prinosa.The increase in market demand for off – season vegetables has affected the expansion of hydroponic production in Croatia too. In order to ensure a continuous vegetable production all year long, our local producers have started to introduce a hydroponic vegetable growing. It is known that hydroponic production started to be applied in conditions where there was no enough farmland, or farmland was exhausted and not fertile enough or it was contaminated and inappropriate for vegetable growing. The word hydroponics literally means “working water“, but in practice it represents a method of plant growing without substrates or with an inert substrate which was added all the necessary nutrients. Vegetable production without the soil aimed at avoiding the place of appearing of diseases and weed growth and to achieve a precise control of plant nutrition. The main goal of hydroponic technology is to ensure a necessary quantity of nutrients and optimum microclimatic conditions to each plant species in a certain growth stage in order to achieve maximum yield