MULTAN, Jan 28 (APP):The promotion of hydroponic vegetables and fruits can help get handsome foreign exchange as it has immense nutritional value along with cosmetic beauty and is also a favourite choice of people across the globe.
In the hydroponics technique, the vegetables and fruits are grown vertically and there is no need for soil for the germination of high-value crops, this was stated by agriculture experts hailing from the Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture.
Talking to APP, they informed that MNSUA had grown tomatoes by employing hydroponics technology. These tomatoes have good nutritional value and their shape is highly attractive.
About the hydroponics agriculture technique, the expert observed that it was a method of growing plants in a water-based, nutrient-rich solution. Hydroponics does not use soil, instead, the root system is supported using an inert medium such as coco coir, perlite, rockwool, clay pellets, peat moss, or vermiculite. They informed that MNSAU had imported coco coir, peat moss to train university students in hydroponic agriculture techniques.
Although hydroponic is costly at the initial stages and there is a need to search out specific markets for the consumption of highly value vegetables and fruits, he stated. At the international level, there are so many markets and hydroponic vegetables are in Europe. People are ready to pay for nutritional-rich vegetables and fruits. The prices of hydroponic vegetables are higher as compared to other vegetables grown in soil, he maintained.
Why is it costly, the experts stated farmers have to spend more on inputs for hydroponics. There are two types of cost, one is on infrastructure and the second is operational cost. However, hydroponics has many health benefits. Every nutritional ingredient to feed plants is given in a calculated way. At different stages of plants, the requirements of plant feeds are different. For hydroponics crops, neat and clean irrigation water is used, they observed. In Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture (MNSUA), a Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant has been installed for irrigation to a hydroponic unit.
When questioned about high-value crops, they informed that high-value crops have greater demand throughout the years.
Mostly, these are used in salads, they informed. Tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, spring onions, peppers, spinach, strawberries, blueberries etc are commonly grown in hydroponics.
How Pakistani farmers will earn from this costly technique, the agrarians observed that CPEC would be operational very soon and many international corporate companies would start a business in CPEC. Similarly, they added that the marketing of high-value crops would enhance across the region in the next few years.
Regarding any recommendation for the promotion of hydroponics vegetables and fruits, the experts suggested that the government should extend subsidies to introduce hydroponics techniques across the country. However, the farming technique is being observed in some areas in Pakistan. However, large-scale farming would surely help earn maximum foreign exchange.
The experts stated that Netherlands, USA and China were earning huge amounts by exporting these crops.
