How does it work?
The apparatus consists of long shallow trays which feature a long lid keeping the system enclosed. You can find cut outs in the lid that will be where in 世博 NFT fact the plants are placed. The plant sits in a plastic pot with slits to allow the roots to cultivate through them. They appear to be a smaller version of the inner pot used in flood and drain systems.
The trays are positioned above a water tank and a pump connected at one end to pump water in to the trays. There must be an excellent gradient in the trays so your water flows down the tray and back to the water tank. Often the gradients used are 1:30 or 1:40 this stops water pooling in the depressions caused by uneven surfaces and roots. The theory is that the roots of the plants are continuously bathed in a nutrient rich water supply and produce healthy, linear growing plants.
The name nutrient film is in mention of the the thin film of roots which will eventually form on underneath of the tray. It takes to be a very shallow stream of water with only the base of the roots submerged; this permits the rest of the root to be available to the air and get the necessary oxygen necessary for growth.
The systems come in different lengths which holds different numbers of plants. Essentially you’ll have any period of NFT system, nevertheless the longer the system the more chance that flow might be interrupted. Systems more than 12 metres tend to get less growth in plants towards the conclusion due to the nutrients in the water being taken up by the plants closer to the reservoir. However this dilemma may be overcome by establishing another water supply along along the channel.
Pump Breakdown
As NFT systems only demand a small, shallow water delivery the pumps used aren’t very powerful. They are also on all of that time period meaning which they get a lot of action within the span of the grow. This in conjunction with possible salt precipitation from the dissolved nutrients (especially in hard water areas) means that sooner or later the pump probably will break down. If you’re able to catch this quickly then apart from the expense of a brand new pump, there’s no real problem to the plants. However if this goes unnoticed it indicates that the roots will dry up rapidly and this may affect growth.
Disease
The plant roots are constantly submerged in water and this may result in bacterial infections such as for instance pythuim. Pythuim is much better known as root rot and can decimate your crops when it is not detected early. You can find products on the market that could eradicate this if you’re unlucky enough to get it, but the best way is prevention. This is often accomplished by changing the water reservoir periodically and adding preventative additives to the nutrient solution.
Stability
Heavy fruit yielding plants can be unstable within an NFT system. This is due to the roots growing long and flat and not having any a great deal of purchase. This causes the plant to become top heavy and they fall out from the trays – not ideal! This is often overcome by supporting the plants by utilizing yo-yos, string or canes. This will give some stability to the plant and allow it to continue growing and bearing fruit without toppling over.