Hydroponics

Hydroponics, substrate cultivation, water cultivation or other types of soilless crops are not exceptional anymore, certainly not for fruit, vegetables and flowers. Better control of most environmental factors, such as temperature, amount of light, humidity, CO₂ fertilization, ... and the complete independence of the soil, guarantee a higher productivity.
Regarding fertilization, hydroponics will need a very different approach than the traditional cultivation (in the ground). On the one hand, all the possible interactions, fixations of nutrients, problems with the availability of nutrients and the presence of parasites and diseases are avoided. On the other hand, the soil can no longer act as a buffer, and therefore the plants will no longer be able to use the reserves available in the soil.
This cultivation technique requires that all nutrients are continuously added in the correct quantities and proportions. For most crops, there are guidelines for the ideal concentrations of the various elements in the nutrient solution (possibly depending on the chosen system). However, the starting point should always be the water analysis in order to be able to add the necessary elements in the right proportions. BMS Micro-Nutrients has developed several products that allow to add the 6 trace elements in one single treatment: Chelal® Hydro NF and Hyponik Oligo.
If necessary (for example, due to the specific requirements of the cultivation) also other products from our Chelal® gamma may be used to increase the concentration of one or more elements. Most frequently additional iron (Chelal® Fe) or boron (Chelal® B) might be necessary, but also other elements are available if necessary: copper (Chelal® Cu), manganese (Chelal® Mn), molybdenum (Chelal® Mo) and zinc (Chelal® Zn).
Exceptionally Chelal Omnical can be added to increase the available calcium for the plant without additional nitrogen. However, Chelal Omnical always is used as a supplement to the normal calcium applications, but is useful to ensure the quality of the production.

For all detailed information about hydroponic applications, please consult our technical file:
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