Demystifying the integration of hydroponics cultivation system reinforcing bioeconomy and sustainable agricultural growth

Abstract

Rapid urbanization and growing population are leading to food and land scarcity hampering the sustainable development of the society. New urban greening concepts have come up to mitigate these problems in a natural way. Hydroponic crop production is a promising approach in the field of urban farming, because of its high resource-use and land-use efficiency. Hydroponic technology attracted the city dwellers to implement this method for private urban gardening or professional urban farming. Extensive research on hydroponics provides a sound scientific basis for its ability to produce high quality of fresh foods all year round, using less water, nutrients and pesticides compared to soil-based products. Recent studies focus on optimizing this cultivation system through developing a better understanding of crop physiology for biofortification in indoor cultivation as well as the integration of municipal waste water treatment, as method to recover nutrients and water while reducing costs and environmental impacts of conventional waste water treatment. In this sector, plug & play systems are demanded with all necessary equipment readily available. Through self-production, the consumers become producers and may adopt a more sustainable consumer behavior. Consequently, hydroponic cultivation can increase resource-use and land-use efficiency through commercial, large-scale crop production in urban areas and raise awareness about sustainable consumer behavior. This in-depth review explores current hydroponics trends, emphasising new developments in smart farming systems and their potential applications in plant biology research.