1. What is the difference between aeroponic and hydroponic technology?
Answer) In aeroponics, plants are inserted
into support structures with their roots suspended in the air. The roots are regularly sprayed with a nutrient solution, which, in
the Aeroponic Plant Culture System, is recycled through a closed-circuit hydraulic system, in order to minimize water and chemical
dispersion. Although hydroponics has long been developed for areas with little cultivatable land or short growing seasons, aeroponics
is potentially a superior growing method all around, for several reasons.
Hydroponics requires a substratum which
is often expensive, and which tends to interact with the nutrient solution, absorbing the nutrients and releasing them at a later
time, which makes the regulation of feeding difficult. Also, because the roots are constantly submerged, there can be a problem of
putrefaction if not enough oxygen reaches them. Finally, hydroponics has not eliminated the possibility of weeds growing together
with the crops.
Aeroponics solves these problems by eliminating the aqueous solution and substrate. It has also been found
that, because of the highly controlled growing situation, aeroponic products tend to be richer in nutrients, homogeneous in size,
and to ripen more quickly.
2. Where did the idea of aeroponic cultivation originate?
Answer) The
idea of aeroponics on an industrial scale was born from the needs of greenhouse farmers in the course of the last 50 years. Greenhouse
farming in soil had problems with the exhaustion of [nutrients] and mineralization of the soils; hydroponics had problems with the
difficult management of the substrates, and the nutritive solutions.
With the Aeroponic Plant Culture System, the nutritive
solution cycle is perfectly managed. The roots are completely in air, and so are not subjected to the influence of any substrate.
Thus, the oxygenation is total, permitting total mineral absorption.
3. Are there companies in the U.S. that grow produce aeroponically?
Answer)
No, in the United States there are various firms concerned with hydroponics and "out-of-soil" techniques in general, but none has
reached our technological level, especially with respect to the completely closed cycles of nutritive solutions. NewGardens will be
the first major commercial aeroponic company in the North America.
4. Which types of vegetables and flowers can be cultivated
with the aeroponic method?
Answer) The Aeroponic Plant Culture System allows for the cultivation of almost
all of the vegetables and flowers normally raised in greenhouses, and it is completely versatile; that is, one can switch from growing
flowers to growing vegetables, and vice versa, with extreme ease.
5. Can one influence the rate of growth of the plant compared
to ordinary ones?
Answer) Aeroponic technology increases both the productive returns per square foot of cultivated
surface and the rate of growth of the plants. Because the plants find themselves in the absence of substrate, and with their
root apparatus well oxygenated, the mineral absorption is much more rapid, and therefore the metabolic process is accelerated. Plants
mature from a week to 15 days sooner with this method than with traditional farming, depending on the type of crop.
6. How was
the problem of putrefaction, and of the scum formed in the closed-cycle nutritive solution resolved ?
Answer) One
of the principal problems in the management of nutritive solutions has been the elimination of the exuded radicals—that is, to put
it in simple terms, the toxins emitted from the crop plants during the normal cycle of growth, The solution was possible, thanks to
the rapidity of the absorption of the nutritive solution, and to an absence of organic material in the entire [closed nutritive] system
that would permit the proliferation of pathogenic agents.
7. How do vegetables grown with the Aeroponic Plant Culture System
taste?
Answer) Obviously, the principal test of products grown with our aeroponic system is made by the consumers.
All of the consumers of aeroponic products, after they have tasted them, find it difficult to return to the traditional ones. They
are reminded of the "old tastes" of Grandma.
The tomato, for example, not only has a much stronger characteristic aroma, but
is more sweet and has all of those after-tastes that by now have been lost as a result of the inadequate knowledge and management
of mineral fertilizers, which has stressed quantity over quality.
In aeroponics, both characteristics [quantity and quality] are satisfied,
in the right proportion.
8. What countries are using aeroponic technology?
Answer)
Italy, Spain, Israel, Arab world, where the interest is enormous, and now the Americas. Aeroponics can be adapted for use anywhere
in the world. It is time to overcome the common prejudice that it is a technique intended only to save water— even if that remains
a priority, and so, most interesting to those countries where water is scarce.
To demonstrate this, look for example at the Ligurian
Coast where 50 percent of the greenhouses are abandoned, because, after many years of cultivating flowers in the same terrain, the
flowers do not come up anymore because of problems with mineralization and of destruction of the bacteriological flora. Or, look at
the tropical zones where the high natural humidity fosters insects that cause huge crop damage. Another big advantage the Aeroponic
Plant Culture System has over traditional cultivation is with regard to the use of additives for the plants' health. We have achieved
a 75% reduction in the need for such additives, relative to regular production methods. The Aeroponic Plant Culture product
can be defined as "ecologically friendly" and quasi-natural.
9. What do you mean by 21st century technology?
Answer) Major
problem to consider is the quality of life of the agricultural workers. In the Western world, the young find it difficult to enter
traditional agriculture because of the lack of dignified conditions. But with the Aeroponic Plant Culture System, it is like doing
clerical work. The worker is on his feet, not bent over, dressed in casual clothing, and in an environment which hovers around 68°
F to 77° F and 50 to 60 percent relative humidity. In sum, ideal conditions for the human body. Furthermore, one gets to work with
electronics, agronomy, and chemistry—an occupation which is both fun and rewarding.
10. Is NASA interest in aeroponics technology?
Answer) We are aware that NASA has invested many millions of dollars for research in aeroponics systems adapted for use in the
orbital stations.
11. Can aeroponic technology have a role in the colonization of the Moon and Mars?
Answer) In cases of a long stay in space, the astronauts need to have as close to the same conditions as possible as on Earth, in
order not to suffer irreversible physical damage. For proper functioning, the body requires traditional foods (not freeze-dried, or
in the form of pills), in order to carry out such regular functions as intestinal peristalsis and the supply of the maximum possible
vital energy to the cells.
This can only be obtained by raising fresh vegetables, and this is possible only with the utilization
of aeroponic technology, since there is no soil, and the use of water is restricted. Thus, if we want to colonize space by allowing
a long stay for some human beings, the only solution is aeroponics.
