Discovery: "Electronic soil" boosts crop growth by over 50%
www.earth.com
This research introduces an innovative approach to soilless cultivation, or hydroponics, by integrating electronic soil, or eSoil.

Breakthrough: “Electronic soil” boosts crop growth by over 50%::This research introduces an innovative approach to soilless cultivation, or hydroponics, by integrating electronic soil, or eSoil.

  • echo64@lemmy.worldEnglish
    42·
    11 months ago

    Efficiency doesn’t matter when we have huge amounts of low-cost arible soil. We don’t need to make the most of every square meter when it’s cheaper and easier to just put seeds in soil. This is the problem.

    Hydroponics are cool technology that is in every way “better” but useless.

    • rdyoung@lemmy.worldEnglish
      33·
      11 months ago

      Again, false. Getting the equivalent of 5+ acres out of the physical space of 1 and leaving the plants to do their thing is better in every way imaginable. I’m not sure you understand just how much more efficient hydro and aero are. The use of lights instead of the sun let’s you grow year round and shorten the night so plants grow faster and fruit sooner.

      Farming the way most industrial farms do things is one of the worst things we have done to the environment in our entire existence. Only outdone by the destruction of rainforests, extracting and burning petroleum from the ground, etc