History part of hydroponics plants 2.pptx

history

1. Sound familiar? The previous paragraph is from the introduction to Circular 347, entitled  The Water-Culture Method For Growing Plants Without Soil , written by Dennis Robert Hoagland, a Professor of Plant Nutrition and Chemist, and Daniel I. Arnon , Junior Plant Physiologist, both employed by the University of California College of Agriculture, Agriculture Experiment Station in Berkeley, California. Circular 347 was published in December of 1938. [ https://archive.org/details/watercultureme3450hoag/ ]

2. The paper was published by the University after being overwhelmed with thousands of requests for more information about work by their associate, Dr. William F. Gericke , who for the past decade had conducted research about the commercial application of water-culture, a developing crop production science given the name of “hydroponics” by Dr. Gericke in 1937. Capturing the imagination of the public and the press, Gericke’s work was much publicized, as well as ridiculed, even before he adopted the term hydroponics. And while his research was primarily geared towards the commercial applications of hydroponics, his earlier emphasis on nutrient salts added to water as “plant pills,” gave the misimpression to many in the press, and by extension the public, that hydroponics could be carried on by most anyone as a hobby. In fact, by the end of 1938, over 40 different companies on the west coast alone were offering hydroponic chemicals and supplies to the public.

3. Yet Gericke wasn’t ready to share his work with the public. He wanted to make sure all aspects of hydroponic cultivation were researched and tested before making any of the specifics of his research available to the public. His focus was on the commercial applications, and he emphasized with his superiors at the university that his work was incomplete, that he wanted more time to fully research and understand every aspect of this developing science before allowing others to emulate it. As Gericke’s work was being conducted under the auspices of the University, administrators felt compelled to release the results of his research for the benefit of the more than 30,000 requests from around the world for more information. Before doing so, they first assigned Hoagland and Arnon to review the work conducted so far and to create a report that checked Dr. Gericke’s research, while including the nutrient salt formulas and design schematics for the equipment developed to date. To Gericke and others, however, Circular 347 seemed written more to undermine the developing technology than promote it by ignoring many of the ancillary benefits of hydroponics, while emphasizing that the authors were able to grow equivalent crops side by side in soil and soilless media, albeit in a greenhouse environment. Much of Dr. Gericke’s research at that time was being simultaneously conducted at his home in Berkeley, and shortly after the publication of Circular 347, Dr. Gericke terminated his relationship with the University, continuing his research independently at his home greenhouse. Prior to his departure, however, several important experimental projects had been initiated as a result of his work.

4. Wake Island and Pan American World Airways In 1934, Pan American World Airways decided upon Wake Island as one of several stops en route to the Far East for their fast growing seaplane fleet, stops that also included Honolulu, Midway Island, and Guam. The air service was launched in 1935, and by the end of 1936, small hotels had been built on the islands to accommodate air clipper passengers and crew while planes are serviced after a 10 to 12 hour flight from one island to the next. Each of the hotels included a restaurant to feed the hungry travelers . Half of the islands used for these intermediate stops were little more than rocky atolls, with little or no space to cultivate any crops in the traditional ways. The regularly scheduled supply ship,  Tradewind , only visited every 6 months and carried very little fresh produce or food as a result. The clipper ship airliners were reserved primarily for passengers and due to the long distances traveled , only essential freight was allowed to fly along to conserve fuel. The one exception was dairy products including milk and cream, due to their perishable nature and that none could be produced on islands.

5. In December of 1937, newspapers announced that 23-year-old Lamory T. Laumeister , a senior at the University of California’s Department of Agriculture, who worked closely with Gericke , had traveled to Wake Island to set up a farming experiment using soilless techniques. Hired by Pan-American, the goal was to produce fresh vegetables for the islands’ 35 permanent inhabitants, which included Charles Jenkins, the manager of the newly built Pan-American Hotel, and his wife, the only woman on the island, as well the air passengers arriving twice each week. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins also served as the chefs for the hotel restaurant. Lamory quickly got to work setting up the tanks and other equipment sent to the island earlier on the supply ship and by the middle of February in 1938, he had produced his first radish crop. Other crops he initially had more difficulties with, with many growing lush vegetation in the tropical sun, but bearing little fruit. Minor changes to the nutrient solution and the installation of a shade structure solved the problems and one month later he provided the restaurant with lettuce, cucumbers and carrots. Once fully operational, weekly yields are reported at 30 pounds of tomatoes, 20 pounds of string beans, 40 pounds of sweet corn and 20 heads of lettuce.

6. While he was initially hired to spend just six months on the island, he successfully lobbied to stay an extra year, during which time he continued to tweak his 230 square feet of redwood growing tanks. In June of 1939, Torrey Lyons, a University of California graduate with experience in culture solutions, replaced Lamory as head hydroponicist . Taking over the garden, he quickly learned that the number one issue Lamory had was not being able to grow enough to satisfy the regular demands of his small but growing number of consumers, even when he intercropped his growing beds. Pleased with the results, Pan-American decided to increase the growing capacity sufficiently to keep the airbase fully supplied. To supplement production of the original facility, they approved the construction a new “ hydroponicum ,” the term Gericke adopted for soilless farms to fight the tendency of the press to label them “bathtub gardens.” The new growing beds would be constructed of concrete and be four times as large, offering almost 1,000 added square feet of growing space. During his tenure, Torrey successfully grew many crops and experimented with a host of different vegetables.

7. On December 8th, 1941, the Japanese attacked the island, on the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbor , the date not matching due to Wake Islands location past the international date line. Afterwards, all U.S. personnel were immediately evacuated from the island and on December 9th, the Japanese attacked again, destroying the Pan American Hotel along with the island hospital. The hydroponicum survived the attack, and was reportedly used by the Japanese during their occupation of the island through 1945.

8. Water Culture by Jeff Edwards Hydroponics, now commonly defined as the soilless growth of plants, was originally simply referred to as “water culture,” with its root foundations in simple observations by early progressive thinkers and tinkerers. The progress of water culture, like many scientific discoveries and their evolution to commercial application, came in fits and starts. Major discoveries and realizations were followed by extended periods of seeming disinterest. Hanging Gardens of Semiramis , Babylon Many written histories of hydroponic plant cultivation methods mention the ancient Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the first written record of which dates to about 290 BC. Penned by Berossus , a Babylonian writer, priest, and astronomer, we only know of Berossus ’ writings through quotes by later authors. Five primary authors, including Berossus , are responsible for what we know of the Hanging Gardens today. Their accounting’s were all written at a later time, based on now lost, previously written account’s by others. Modern research questions whether the gardens were in Babylon at all, yet the premise that the gardens would in some way qualify as “hydroponic” is doubtful, based on observations by these early writers. Diodorus Siculus , writing between 60 and 30 BC, referenced the 4th century BC texts,  Ctesias of Cnidus,  for his description of the gardens. After detailing their construction, he includes the following passage, “…on all this again earth had been piled to a depth sufficient for the roots of the largest trees; and the ground, when leveled off, was thickly planted with trees of every kind…” Progress came in fits and starts, with major discoveries followed by extended periods of seeming disinterest. Quintus Curtius Rufus, writing in the 1st century AD, references writings of Cleitarchus , a 4th-century BC historian for Alexander the Great, who also described the “…deep layer of earth placed upon it and water used for irrigating it.” Philo of Byzantium, the author who identifies what we accept today as the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, writing sometime around the 4th or 5th centuries AD, mentions that “…much deep soil is piled on, and then broad-leaved and especially garden trees of many varieties are planted.” Based on these accounts alone, it seems doubtful that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon could in any way be considered soilless. In all fairness, the irrigation systems required to bring water to plantings of the reported scale, described in the form of aqueducts and water lifts, are similar in concept to irrigation methods employed today in modern hydroponic systems. Another oft mentioned comparison to modern hydroponics in the old world are the “floating gardens” built by the Aztecs in the 14th century AD. Arriving in the Valley of Mexico, the Aztec people found a landlocked swamp with five large lakes surrounded by volcanic mountains. For some reason, they chose to settle in swampland surrounding Lake Texcoco , and decided to build their capital city on a small island in the lake. Lacking any extra land for growth, the people started building what were essentially rectangular islands, constructed of soil, compost, and sludge from the lake bed. Contrary to popular belief, these islands, or “ chinampas ”, didn’t float at all, but were rather attached to the lakebed using willow tree cuttings and a variety of materials including stones, poles, reeds, vines, and rope. Chinampas were incredibly fertile and irrigation was unnecessary since water wicked up from the lake. As many as 7 crops could be harvested in a single year due to the unique methods of composting and mulching developed by the Aztec farmers of the time. However, based on their method of construction it’s clear that the Aztec chinampas , like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, cannot be classified as hydroponic either.

9. Jan Baptist van Helmont (1579-1644) Some of the earliest recorded research into the actual reasoning behind the growth of plants, published posthumously in 1648, was written by a Flemish chemist known as Jan Baptist van Helmont (1579-1644). In fact, authorities detained van Helmont in 1634 during the Spanish Inquisition for the “crime” of studying plants and other sciences, and sentenced him to two years in prison. Van Helmont was primarily known as the first to articulate that there are gaseous substances that differ from ordinary air, as well as introducing the word “gas” into the scientific lexicon. He is also known for a single experiment he conducted using a willow tree to determine from where plants derive their mass. This research is commonly known as “the 5-year tree experiment” … “But I have learned by this handicraft-operation that all Vegetables do immediately, and materially proceed out of the Element of water onely . For I took an Earthen vessel, in which I put 200 pounds of Earth that had been dried in a Furnace, which I moystened with Rainwater, and I implanted therein the Trunk or Stem of a Willow Tree, weighing five pounds; and at length, five years being finished, the Tree sprung from thence, did weigh 169 pounds, and about three ounces: But I moystened the Earthen Vessel with Rain-water, or distilled water ( alwayes when there was need) and it was large, and implanted into the Earth, and least the dust that flew about should be co-mingled with the Earth, I covered the lip or mouth of the Vessel with an Iron-Plate covered with Tin, and easily passable with many holes. I computed not the weight of the leaves that fell off in the four Autumnes . At length, I again dried the Earth of the Vessell , and there were found the same two hundred pounds, wanting about two ounces. Therefore 164 pounds of Wood, Barks, and Roots, arose out of water onely .” Authorities detained van Helmont in 1634 during the Spanish Inquisition for the “crime” of studying plants! Historians have deduced that the experiment was likely not an original idea, rather one motivated by Nicolaus of Cusa’s 1450 description in  De Staticus Experimentis  of a similar experiment that was apparently never conducted. Further research puts the concept of the experiment back to a Greek work somewhere between 200 and 400 A.D. And while his research method is completely lacking in scientific validity, it was van Helmont’s line of inquiry and experimentation that would ultimately lead to the understanding of photosynthesis.

10. John Woodward (1665-1728 ) in 1699, John Woodward (1665-1728), an English naturalist, antiquarian, and geologist challenged Helmont’s theoretical deductions by publishing the results of “water culture” experiments he conducted using spearmint grown in differing sources of water. His experiments showed that the spearmint grew better in water to which he added very small amounts of soil, versus “plain” water and distilled water. His research also led him to the differing conclusion that more than water was necessary for plant growth, and that soil was at least partly responsible for the increase in the mass and weight of plants, indicating that he too failed to clearly grasp the fundamental concepts of plant nutrition.

11. Jean-Baptiste Boussingault (1801-1887), Unfortunately, progress in these areas of research remained stagnant until the first proper water culture experiments undertaken by a French agricultural scientist and chemist, Jean-Baptiste Boussingault (1801-1887), around 1840. Boussingault had established the very first agricultural experiment station near Alsace, France four years earlier and was responsible for a plethora of discoveries related to soil chemistry and plant nutrition. Many of his water culture experiments involved raising plants in various soil substitutes including sand, ground quartz, and charcoal, which he irrigated with solutions of mineral nutrients. Also in 1840, Boussingault’s fan and contemporary, German chemist Justus Freiherr von Liebig (1803-1873), published  Die organische Chemie in ihrer Anwendung auf Agricultur und Physiologie (Organic Chemistry in its Application to Agriculture and Physiology) , which proffered the then ridiculous proposition that chemistry could drastically increase yields and cut the costs associated with growing food. As a boy, Liebig had lived through “the year without a summer”, a volcanic winter event that occurred in the northern Hemisphere after the massive 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in what is now known as Indonesia. Near total crop losses that season led to widespread food shortages, causing a global famine, and much of Liebig’s later work towards increasing world food production was reportedly shaped by this unsettling experience .

12. Justus Freiherr von Liebig Liebig later convinced himself that there was plenty of nitrogen supplied to plants through ammonia contained in precipitation and strongly argued against using nitrogen in fertilizers in his later years. Justus Freiherr von Liebig Liebig made significant scientific contributions to agricultural chemistry, and was the first to put forth a theory on mineral nutrients, identifying as essential to plant growth the now familiar elements including nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Interestingly, Liebig’s major downfall was his lack of experience in the practical applications of his research. One of his best known achievements was developing nitrogen-based fertilizer, arguing in the 1840’s that it was necessary to grow the best possible crops. However, he later convinced himself that there was plenty of nitrogen supplied to plants through ammonia contained in precipitation and strongly argued against using nitrogen in fertilizers in his later years. Despite his wavering, he is commonly known as the “father of the fertilizer industry” not only for his identification of nitrogen and other elements as being necessary for plant growth, but also for his development of the Law of the Minimum, which observed how individual nutrient components affected crop growth.

13. Ferdinand Gustav Julius von Sachs ( 1832-1897) In 1860, Ferdinand Gustav Julius von Sachs (1832-1897), a German botanist and author of  Geschichte der Botanik  ( History of Botany ) (1875), a highly regarded historical chronicle of the various branches of botanical science from the mid-1500’s through 1860, published his nutrient solution formula for “water-culture”, and revived the use of this technique as the standard tool when researching plant nutritional needs. His plant nutrient formula, with only minor changes, was almost universally used for the next 8 decades. Sachs’ experiments blazed the water culture trail and in rapid succession, other scientists followed up his work, the most notable of which was Johann August Ludwig Wilhelm Knop (1817-1891), a German agricultural chemist. While Sachs’ interest lie primarily with studying plant processes while establishing botanical knowledge, Knop can rightfully be called the true father of water culture, as his experiments lay the foundation for what we now know today as hydroponics.

14. Wilhelm Knop In his early water culture experiments, Knop sprouted seeds in sand and fiber netting before transplanting the seedlings into cork stoppers with drilled holes, securing them with cotton wadding, and then suspending them in glass containers filled with solution. By doing so, Knop inadvertently established the technique most widely used for future laboratory experiments. Using this method, Knop was the first to realize that plants gain a large amount of weight simply from the food stored in their seeds and that seeds provide nourishment to the parts of the plant that form first. By this time it had also been established that soil nutrients must be in a soluble form for plants and that the amount of soluble nutrients in soil was miniscule compared to those that were insoluble. These two pieces of information would form the basis for Knop’s future scientific experimentation. What wasn’t available then were specific ways to measure these properties, such as osmotic pressure, nor did researchers of the day have any idea of what those properties might be. And while Knop deduced that nutrient solutions that were too concentrated might do more harm than good, he had no idea why. Knop inadvertently established the technique most widely used for future [horticultural] laboratory experiments. Despite this lack of understanding, in 1860, Knop successfully grew plants, without soil, weighing many times more than their seeds and containing a larger quantity of nutrients. In 1868, other scientists using Knop’s methods, grew buckwheat weighing 4,786 times more than its original seed, and oats weighing 2,359 times more. These experiments firmly established the fact that plants can indeed be grown successfully and productively without soil via the method known then as simply “water culture”. Over the next few decades, little effort towards developing commercial applications continued to leave the promise of water culture unfulfilled. William F. Gericke , the man who actually coined the term “hydroponics”, in his book The Complete Guide to Soilless Gardening (1940), laments the fact that “…after 1868, the conditions were as auspicious for the birth of hydroponics as they were in 1929,” the year Gericke began in earnest his research to find out if food crop production using water culture could be commercially viable. In the next installment , we’ll explore events occurring in the 20th century that led to the birth of hydroponics as it is known today, as well the missteps and misinformation that again led to its virtual abandonment as a practical alternative method of food production for many years to follow.