Guide to Hydroponics

Hydroponics is a technique commonly used by gardeners to grow plants in water as opposed to soil. The word hydroponics came from the Greek hydro (water) and ponos (working). In here, the essential macro- and micro- nutrients that is needed (table 1.1) by plants are supplied in water.

Table 1.1
Essential Nutrients need by Plants

The practice of Hydroponics dates back to Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Today, Plant Physiologist use this method of plant cultivation on laboratories to determine what nutrients and on what quantity is needed by plants to grow.

In starting a hydroponic garden we will do three steps: Converting, Container and Potting

Converting
In order for a plant to live on a hydroponic environment, it must first be converted. We take a soft stemmed cutting and suspending it in a container full of water. This can be done by placing a piece of cardboard on the top of the container and putting the cutting through a hole in the center (fig 1.1). This setup must be placed in an environment that it can obtain light indirectly and in an ambient temperature. Water must be replaced every few days to avoid it from becoming stagnant. When a good root system have developed, place the plant in a transparent plastic bag with air holes to keep the humidity high for one month.

Container
The conventional Pot and Saucer method is the easiest method in making a container for hydroponic gardening. This method requires a standard plant pot with bottom drainage holes, a transparent plant pot saucer bigger than the plant pot and a nutrient solution. The pot is placed on the saucer so it can work as a reservoir of the nutrient solution (fig 1.2).

Potting
When the plant is already conditioned and the pot is prepared, potting can be done. Here we will use aggregate that is made of clay pebbles. We put the clay pebbles into the pot and over it is a plant, just like a normal potting done in soil. Be careful not to submerge the plants root on the nutrient solution; it may be touched the solution but not drowned on the solution. When the plant is already adapted to the current environment, it will establish its roots downward the reservoir.

The major drawback of Hydroponic gardening is that fungal infection on plants rates high. It also requires a high cost for labor, lighting, and water. Advantages include the ability to grow crops in arid regions, more controlled conditions; such as the ability to grow plants indoor, and thus minimize pests and weeds; greater plant density; and most of all is a constant supply of nutrients.

Bonsai (Physiological Approach)

So ayun.. Pinagawa kami ni Ms. Mae ng report about the role of Plant's Physiology to the practice of bonsai..

Masaya naman!*in a tone of tv ad endorser* :P


Eto yung output ko.. :)



The word bonsai came from Japanese phrases "bon" (basin) and "sai" (to plant), which literally means "to plant on a basin". It is regarded as an art of growing miniature trees in shallow pots. This practice originated in China but became famous in Japan. Here, a plant specimen is trained to grow in a shallow container by cultivation techniques such as pruning, root reduction, putting, and grafting to produce small trees to mimic the full-sized ones. This report will tackle on how cultivation techniques, role of hormone, density of roots and apical dominance affect growth of plants in achieving the miniature effect of bonsai plants.

In shaping, bonsai cultivators repeatedly prune the stem, leaves, and buds of shoot. It is established in science that root grows larger according to the needs of shoot and conversely, shoots grow until the roots can fully support it. Having this premise, cultivators of bonsai assume that pruning the tree roots and shoots would result a miniature effect - which was latterly proven right. Root pruning is the cutting of trees' taproot and thick roots in such way that lateral roots are encouraged to grow. By doing this, more roots will provide more water nd nutrients to the tree. On the other hand, without root pruning, there will be few roots so the shoot will be poor. To achieve the root-shoot balance after root pruning, shoot pruning must be done. In shoot pruning, we focus in cutting of the apical bud of the plant to remove the apical dominance. Apical dominance is the phenomenon wherein the central stem of the plant is dominant over the terminal bud, thus stimulating vertical growth and inhibiting lateral growth through lateral buds. Leaf pruning (one form of shoot pruning) is done so that the water and nutrients that have been previously supplied to the leaves will now flow to the lateral buds encouraging its growth.

Plant hormones also explain the root-shoot balance in bonsai training of a plant. Auxin which primarily synthesized in the apical buds of the shoots are transported to the roots via phloem. They stimulate root's growth and sometimes inhibit it from growing larger. Cytokinins on the other hand, are synthesized in the apical meristems of the roots and transported via xylem going to apical buds. This boosts the vigor of cell divisions in the apical bud, thus increases the vitality of the shoots and leaves. Therefore, growth of roots is directly proportional or dependent to the growth of shoots. Relating to apical dominance, Cytokinin's landing site on the shoots are the apical buds. Cytokinin has no choice but to go to lateral buds (capillarity).

The crucial stage in making bonsai is the training. When the cultivator succeeded in the training, the bonsai plant can be treated just like any other plant.



*** I've encoded this on my phone during those time that I was super bored!

Summer Na! =)

At dahil bakasyon na...




Boring na! :P

Nakakainis lang dahil di pa ko pwede mag summer job.. T.T
Di dahil sa ayaw ko... Kundi dahil sa ILLEGAL pa ko! T.....T


So far masaya pa naman ang summer ko.. Pero dahil wala ako masyadong ma post.. I popost ko nalang ang outputs ko sa PP (Plant Physiology)! :)