When it comes to care in hydroponic production, these go far beyond those considered technical. To Mauricio Rangel, Product Development, Research and Seed Production Director from Feltrin Sementes, from Farroupilha (RS), this system requires a lot of organization, commitment and responsibility of those involved in the production process, in addition to working well with the supply chain, with enough technical knowledge mainly on plant physiology, plant nutrition and plant pathology. "Therefore, it requires a good management technique, but also business and process," he says. Thus, the main point is the growers choose cultivars adapted to its conditions and the region, working with seed provenance of respected companies, which feature all the quality control of productive processes for the seeds to reach the final consumer with excellent quality and sanity.
All seeds can be used in hydroponic crops for commercial exploitation, as long as they have enough quality, with good genetics, germination and vigor. The respected companies provide seeds for the market with these quality features, which often are higher than those prescribed by legislation. "In general, growers are looking for seeds that are uniform in size and shape, so well calibrated, that have vigor, high germination, uniform and fast emergence. This will ensure uniform final stand and gains in income, estimated at 25% at final harvest, "he says.
Rangel also highlights that purity, health and germination power are important features in choosing, information that can be found on product labels, a requirement of the Ministry of Agriculture. "On the label, the grower will identify the name of the cultivar, seed category (generation), if it is F1 Hybrid, the lot (which enables traceability), the germination percentage (%), physical purity percentage (%) and the validity date the laboratory test. "
Magazine Hidroponia
1st release of the magazine Hidroponia, June/2010.