Modern Developments in The Use of Inorganic Media for Greenhouse Vegetable Production

One of the most effective substitutes for soil fumigation is soilless culture on inorganic platforms, which offers a root environment free of pathogens at planting and encourages earlier and larger harvests. Additionally, growing on substrates allows for the recycling of fertigation effluents, which helps to lessen contamination in the environment caused by fertiliser residue leaching. A high irrigation frequency may improve crop performance due to a higher availability of nutrients, specifically P and Mn, while maintaining constantly higher moisture levels in the root zone. Nutrient uptake is generally proportional to the concentration of nutrients around the roots, but in flowing solutions, plants are able to make good growth over a wide range of concentrations. Environmental factors can also have a profound effect on nutrition. With tomato and cucumber, the uptake of water, N and K were highly correlated with solar radiation and air temperature, while P uptake increased with root temperature. High humidity decreased the Ca and K contents of tomato leaves but increased the Ca content of the fruit. Increasing the salinity by adding NaCl to the solution decreased the K content of tomatoes without adversely affecting the quality.