Last week’s Rose Cafe was on hydroponics and specifically detailed hydroponic production in the greenhouses at Cornell. I went into this cafe with no knowledge of hydroponics and very little about agriculture as a whole. I thought that it was extremely interesting to learn about the alternative ways people cultivate plants beyond simply planting them in soil. We learned about the different techniques in hydroponics, such as deep water culture, and the amounts of water, nutrients, air and the general setup that differentiates each. The use of hydroponics is also specifically promising because it can bypass some of the problems found in traditional agriculture, such as dealing with extreme weather and problematic insects.

The research done at Cornell about hydroponics works  to determine the best conditions for growing different plants hydroponically. The graduate student presenting at the cafe mentioned that her research centers upon the type of lighting that hydroponic plants are exposed to. She studies the effects of normal yellow light as well as that of LED lights, which can be different colors, in this case, purple. Her talk inspired me to branch out and learn more about the varied fields researched at Cornell. Plus, now I really want to see hydroponics in action at the greenhouses!