High-pressure aeroponics is relatively new grow method to hit the agriculture industry but continues to gain popularity every day. Why? There are several key benefits that drive growers to make the switch. The three primary reasons are shortened grow cycles, increased yield, and stronger roots.
Benefits
Aeroponic growing methods allow for roots to be suspended in the air, exposing them to more oxygen that traditional soil or hydro-based methods. This increase in oxygen exposure allows root development to flourish, and in turn, the plants will grow at a faster rate. This shortened growth cycle is popular amongst growers who desire to improve their turnover rates and complete more growths in a year. For many commercial growers, this shortened growth cycle will also show positive returns in saving on energy consumption. High-pressure aeroponics has been proven to shorten growth cycles by 25% or more.
High-pressure aeroponic systems spray the roots with an atomized solution of nutrients, at specified intervals. This precision method of nutrient delivery allows for better absorption of the nutrients, improving root strength. In addition to this, the method of timed spray intervals tends to conserve water and nutrients (up to 80%) in comparison to other grow methods such as hydroponics.
The aeroponic growing method also includes the benefits from all indoor growing methods: better temperature, light, and space control. It is gaining traction in the world of urban farming to produce crops in a space that wouldn’t typically allow for the right growing environment.
Downfalls
Now to be fair, there’s a reason that high-pressure aeroponics have yet to be adopted by the masses. It wouldn’t be fair to talk about the benefits of this method without mentioning the disadvantages. We strive to do as much as we can to mitigate the turnoffs of high-pressure aeroponics with our line of products.
Many growers are intimidated by high-pressure aeroponics systems, as there is a learning curve in the interval and pressure of sprays. As more growers enter the world of aeroponics, it will be much easier to join in with less experience. With our Bifarm Mobile Application, we allow users to save, duplicate, and share their Grow Plans. This allows growers to create the perfect “recipe” and recreate or share their successes.
Another intimidating factor of aeroponics is the maintenance required for many available or DIY systems. The system must accurately spray roots at specified intervals to achieve desired results. The Bifarm aeroponic systems have been designed with automation in mind. Computers and sensors control the spray intervals and pressure, root temperature, and allow for remote monitoring of the system. This automation reduces manual labor needed, and we’ve found the mobile application to be popular amongst new users.
While the increased oxygen exposure for the roots allows for improved growth, the semi-moist environment does leave roots vulnerable to bacteria-related disease. Root disease most commonly occurs when the root chamber isn’t kept at the proper temperature. We’ve combat this issue with a temperature control system, that will heat or chill the chamber according to the temperature specified by the user.
Bifarm high-pressure aeroponic systems are built with cultivators in mind. In addition to these benefits of the growing technique, our systems are fully automated. Automation decreases the need for manual labor and risk, by allowing for remote monitoring and alerts.
Learn more about our automated high-pressure aeroponics systems here.