Karnal’s institutes grow vegetables without soil

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, July 6

No cultivation of vegetables in saline, alkaline and sandy soil will be a thing of the past as the Indo-Israel Centre of Excellence for Vegetables (CEV) in Gharaunda and Potato Technology Centre (PTC) in Shamgarh are getting good results of soilless cultivation technique for producing vegetables.

As per data, 3,15,617 hectares are affected with salinity and alkalinity (sodic) in Haryana. Of these, 1,45,054 hectares are saline while 1,70,563 hectares are sodic.

Under this technique, instead of soil, the crops are grown in soilless media, meant of coco-pit, a fibre made out of coconut husk, and two mineral rocks, including vermiculite and perlite, along with water, which is pre-treated with essential micro-nutrients in green houses.

Coco-pit can be used separately, without vermiculite and perlite, as soilless media. But the combination of the trio gives better environment for plant roots, says an expert of the CEV. This technology will revolutionise farming in affected areas.

The CEV has been using this technology for the last four years while the PTC has adopted the technology for the production of micro-tubers of potato for the last one year. As per the authorities, both institutes have recorded good results.

It has helped in eradicating nematodes, an insect, and soil-borne pathogens, which have become a serious problem for green houses technology or protected cultivation technology. These affect the root system of the plant.

“The trial on soilless cultivation technology is going on and giving results as per expectations at the CEV for the benefit of the farming community. The production of cucumber, regular tomato, cherry tomato and capsicum in soilless technique is equal to production of these vegetables in soil,” said Ram Swarup Punia, Superintendent Horticulture, CEV.

“Initially, we witnessed several kinds of hurdles, including accurate proportion of all three components for mixture, requirement of water for this mixture and fertiliser doses and maintaining the level of pH and electric conductivity and chemical properties of soil, but now we have overcome all the hurdles and developed a protocol of growing vegetables in soilless media,” said Dr Krishan Kumar, Horticulture Development Officer, CEV.

Coco-pit is easily available at a cost of Rs 15 to Rs 20 per kg while mineral rocks, including vermiculate, are available at Rs 25 per kg and perlite agriculture grade at Rs 70 to Rs 75 a kg. The mixture increases production cost by about Rs 25 per plant in three years (around Rs 8 per year) as the same mixture can be used continuously for three years.

“If we go with soil cultivation, we have to bear the cost of soil preparation, chemical for soil-borne pathogen and insect-pest, but in soilless technique we need not spend money on soil preparation and chemicals,” said Dr Satyender Yadav, Deputy Director Horticulture, PTC.

“We are using only coco-pit as the soilless medium. It has helped us in growing mini-tuber production without the use of soil,” said Dr Yadav.

He maintained that coco-pit cakes were dipped in water and leached several times until electrical conductivity was attained below 2 mmhos and 5.7 pH. Coco-pit was spread over the plastic sheet. Hardened micro- plants were transplanted in the coco-pit medium and irrigated at regular intervals.