DWC HYDROPONIC SYSTEMS
F
or years, people were under the
impression that size does matter
thanks to Godzilla’s powerful marketing
slogan. Fast food chains even climbed
on board, offering super-sized this
and that to consumers, making a
huge push toward the more is more
principle. As time went on, consumers
began recognizing this strategy as a
money-making scheme to sell more
product, which then spawned the next
revolution: less is more. Just as those
at the top had previously done, lessis-more enthusiasts began doing the
same, limiting their consumption in
many areas of their lives toward a more
sustainable existence.
Crop cultivators eventually followed
the trends of both campaigns, but as
soon as science-based evidence was
brought to the surface regarding the
ineffectiveness of overfertilization, the
less-is-more mentality began making its
way into crop cultivation as well.
DEFICIENCIES IN DWC
While less-is-more can be highly
effective in many arenas, it has
started to become overhyped and
overemphasized in some cases. I
will focus the conversation on the
undernourishment of plants in a deep
water culture environment. Although
it is true that plants in a DWC setting
can flourish with less nutrients than
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Maximum Yield USA | October 2016
plants in other hydroponic and soil
settings, there is always a threshold
that needs to be maintained. When
it comes to feeding your plants
appropriately, the range for optimal
nourishment is narrow. When
growers subject their plants to the
lower end of what is normal or even
outside of that range, symptoms of
deficiency will likely occur.
Signs of deficiency can vary depending on which nutrient(s) the plants
are lacking. In comparison to nutrient
toxicities, deficiencies may manifest in
a more isolated manner. For example,
plants that are overfed will likely exhibit
multiple symptoms simultaneously,
demonstrating toxic levels of more than
one element and will look like they are
dying. Deficiencies tend to be harder to
spot because the plants may be getting
enough of one element but not another,
producing plants that may look healthy
overall, but not quite right. The progression of deficiency worsens over time, so
early stages may be hard to recognize
until the problem has advanced significantly. In this scenario, nutrient lockout
becomes a major concern because the
plants may selectively uptake sufficient
quantities of one element but fail to
nourish their need for another.
A key to understanding deficiencies
is being familiar with mobile versus
immobile nutrients. Once immobile
nutrients are taken up by the plant and
directed to where they are needed, they
tend to remain in that place indefinitely.
This is why deficiency symptoms of
immobile nutrients manifest in the
newer growth because that deficient
nutrient remains immobilized in
another area of the plant, unable
to move to the area of need. Some
examples of immobile nutrients
“
IN COMPARISON TO
NUTRIENT TOXICITIES,
DEFICIENCIES MAY
MANIFEST IN A MORE
ISOLATED MANNER.
”