Hydroponic Engineering

Hydroponics is a cultivation technique for plants - especially types of vegetables and fruits - without using planting media in the form of soil. The planting medium used is rockwool, fuel husk, hydroton, or sand by emphasizing the fulfillment of nutritional needs for plants. The narrowing of productive land - especially in big cities - makes cultivation of plants through hydroponic techniques more attractive and more important. Moreover, human needs for plants such as vegetables and fruits are increasing along with the growth of the world's population.

Plant cultivation with hydroponic techniques is very easy. We can do it around the house without needing a large amount of land. The thing that needs to be considered in cultivation with this hydroponic method is light, oxygen, water availability, and nutrition.

The essence of hydroponic technology is the provision of nutrient solutions - as a food source for plants - in the root zone, where the plant is planted on certain media using water as a substitute for soil. Nutrients given in the form of nutrients A (calcium, potassium, nitrogen, iron) and nutrient B (potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur, manganese, Zn, Cu, Mo, boron) are needed by plants. A and B nutrients for these hydroponic plants are sold on the market

Among the many hydroponic systems that are widely practiced today, the simplest, most inexpensive and easy to do system is hydroponics with a floating raft system and an axis system. Hydroponics with a floating raft system is a system that uses a tub filled with water by placing vegetable seeds on sterofoam which is broken in accordance with the spacing. In this system aerators are needed to regulate air circulation, because there is no distance between the roots of plants and water.

While the axis system is a system that adopts a system on the oil stove, where a water filled tub is given a lid (sterofoam) which is broken in accordance with the diameter of the net pot used. Net pots are given axes as a connecting tool to transfer nutrients to plants. The distance between water and net pot is about 5-8 cm. This net pot will become a container for plants to grow and develop.

When compared to planting a plant directly on the ground, the results that can be harvested from planting with hydroponic technology are cleaner and safer if consumed directly. This technology is also environmentally friendly because it does not use pesticides and makes the environment more beautiful.

Considering the various benefits that can be gained from hydroponic cultivation, especially to green the surrounding environment in large cities, Medco Foundation is actively involved in the socialization of crop cultivation through this hydroponic technique. The introduction of hydroponic techniques was mainly carried out by Medco Foundation in schools, such as those conducted at Avicenna Jagakarsa Middle School and Avicenna Cinere Middle School. ***