Comparative Growth Analysis of Onion in Deep Water Culture and Soil Based Systems: Enhancing Medicinal Plant Cultivation in Urbanized Environments

Medicinal plants play a vital role in treating human and livestock ailments. A majority of the population living across the world relies on medicinal plants as a primary source of healthcare. The rural as well as the urban habitats depend on medicinal plants. Medicinal plants may be of root type or shoot type. Onion is one of the root types of medicinal plants that has abundant health benefits as well as economic value. Due to increasing urbanization, the availability of agricultural land is decreasing rapidly which is causing an increase in the demand for medicinal plants in a reduced cultivation area. This has led to the cultivation of soilless smart precision farming methods. Sensors are used to monitor and control the environmental factors affecting the growth and yield of agricultural produce. Among all the vertical farming methods, hydroponics is found to be the best way for cultivating herbaceous plants. This article deals with the comparison of growth responses of hydroponically grown onion (Allium cepa) in a Deep-Water Culture setup, as compared to that cultivated in soil. A systematic literature survey of onion grown in a hydroponic cultivation system is carried out. Finally, the growth responses of hydroponic and soil-grown onions are checked and compared with the results obtained from the 'AquaCrop' simulator. Results of the actual and simulator are verified and validated, and it is found that the actual and the simulation results are similar.