How Plants Grow
The ancient thinkers wondered about how plants grow. They concluded that plants obtained nourishment from the soil, calling it a particular juyce existent in the soil for use by plants. In the 16th century, van Helmont regarded water as the sole nutrient for plants. He came to this conclusion after conducting the following experiment Growing a willow in a large carefully weighed tub of soil, van Helmont observed at the end of the experiment that only 2 ounces of soil was lost during the period...
Its Roles and Functions
Plant roots have two major functions They physically anchor the plant to the growing medium. They are the avenue through which water and ions enter into the plant for redistribution to all parts of the plant. Although the first role given above is important, it is the second role that deserves our attention in this discussion. The book edited by Carson 1974 provides detailed information on plant roots and their many important functions, and the book chapter by Wignarajah 1994 discusses the...
Inert Soil Definition
The word hydroponics has its derivation from the combining of two Greek words, hydro meaning water and ponos meaning labor, i.e., working water. The word first appeared in a scientific magazine article Science, Feb 178 1 published in 1937 and authored by W.F. Gericke, who had accepted this word as was suggested by Dr. W.A. Setchell at the University of California. Dr. Gericke began experimenting with hydroponic growing techniques in the late 1920s and then published one of the early books on...
