Reduing water needed in agriculture
Only one percent of the world’s fresh water is available for human consumption. And of this, a staggering 70 percent is currently used to irrigate crops. As the world’s population grows and water scarcity increases, the question of how we feed the world with finite resources becomes more urgent.
Fortunately, there are already ways to dramatically reduce the amount of water needed in agriculture. It takes 60 litres of water to produce a single kilogram of tomatoes if they are grown outdoors. This falls to 15 litres for hydroponic greenhouse cultivation, and then to just 4 litres per kilo when the very latest indoor growing technology is used. Scale this across the world’s tomato production and the potential water savings from this single crop alone are impressive.
Hydroponic greenhouse cultivation
Grodan’s stone wool growing media solutions are designed for Precision Growing1, a sustainable cultivation philosophy that ensures plants get exactly what they need – no more, and no less. It’s this approach that enables growers to raise indoor crops with maximum water efficiency.
To raise awareness of best practice in hydroponic greenhouse cultivation, in 2016 Grodan and climate technology company Priva published Best-Practice Guidelines For Greenhouse Water Management.2 Aimed at helping growers reduce their environmental impact, the guidelines explain how careful water and nutrient management combined with recycling drain water in greenhouses can cut fertiliser use, save costs and reduce waste.
At a time when growers everywhere face constrained resources and tougher regulations, these solutions offer an innovative way to produce more with less.
