Hydroponic production technology to be featured at workshop – Purdue News Service

Krishna Nemali examines hydroponically grown lettuce in the horticulture and landscape architecture greenhouse at Purdue University. (Purdue University file photo)
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Hydroponic agriculture is growing nationally at a rate of 3% to 4% per year. Current producers or those considering the use of hydroponics technology can get information on production and the latest technology at the fourth annual Greenhouse and Indoor Hydroponics Workshop.

The workshop will take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 5 on the Purdue University campus and is sponsored by Purdue Extension, the university’s Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.

Greenhouse and indoor hydroponics is an agricultural production method in which plants are grown in a nutrient solution instead of soil. Because growing occurs in an enclosed space, variables like nutrients, temperature and light can be better controlled while using fewer pesticides and insecticides and making better use of water resources. Crops can also be grown at different levels, which means a higher rate of production per unit area.

For states like Indiana, this means that suitable crops — mostly leafy greens like lettuce — can be grown year-round.

Workshop organizer Krishna Nemali, a Purdue assistant professor and a controlled environment agriculture Extension specialist, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that Americans annually consume 10-15 pounds of leafy greens per person.

“If half of Indiana’s population consumes salads or leafy greens once a week, that would be a value of several million dollars a year in lettuce,” Nemali said. “We actually grow almost none here, which means we are importing it from other states like California, which means it isn’t as fresh and we have no real idea of how it’s grown. My goal is to train our growers to produce locally and bring more money to our growers.

“And then there is also something going on, primarily in urban areas, called the local food movement. People really want to know where their food is coming from. Was it grown in a safe way? Is it fresh? Is it healthy? Where and how is it grown? Locally and hydroponically grown leafy greens and vegetables are attractive to urban consumers.”