70% of fresh water is consumed for agricultural purposes, including food production. As more people put ever increasing demands on limited resources, the cost and effort to build or even maintain access to water will increase.
“Grow more with less” is the main principle of precision growing. In precision growing and soilless cultivation it is possible to minimise water use. Interesting fact is that about 90% (8,500 ha) of the Dutch greenhouse horticulture consists of soilless cultivation . In these greenhouses collection and re-use of drain water is obligatory (Beerling et al., 2014). Precision growing changed the conventional way of cultivation radically.
Dutch growers with hydroponics technology with recirculation reduced their water use for crops by up to 90% compared to conventional soil based system, as we assessed by Wageningen University & Research in our whitepaper “Using less water when growing hydroponically”.
Careful management of water and nutrients combined with recycling the drain water in the greenhouses can strengthen growers’ business both in the short and long term because it contributes to:
Closed hydroponic systems help protect the environment by minimizing fertilizer emission and conserving surface water quality.
Growers can capture and recycle the drain water from the beginning of the cultivation cycle. Monitoring the Water Content and Electrical Conductivity in the substrate (with the GroSens sensors) allow growers to make informed decisions with respect to fine tuning the irrigation strategy. Soil-based cultivation is likely to use 50–100% more water as a result of water losses from overwatering the soil and evaporation from the soil surface compared to a substrate. Building an irrigation strategy growers can improve the water use efficiency as well.
At Grodan we are proud to serve the agricultural sector and contribute with our solutions to help manage water better and to help growers grow sustainably.
Download the report Using less water when growing hydroponically
The guide has been written to provide greenhouse owners and managers with an overview of current best practice.
World population is expected to grow another 1 billion in just 12 years, and reaching 9 billion people in 2050, creating unprecedented demand for food, and hence agricultural land. To keep up with population and economic growth, food production should increase by 70% by 2050.
Grodan's story revolves around sustainable cultivation, driven by a passion for Precision Growing. It aims for higher yields with fewer natural resources.
Grodan's recycling commitment, with over 62% of consumers using recycling services, achieves a 45% stonewool recycling rate.
Grodan focuses on root zone management for 'Precision Growing,' optimizing water supply for efficient crop growth.
We are a global leader in the supply of innovative stone wool substrate solutions for the professional horticultural based on Precision Growing principles.
