STATUS OF THE GREENHOUSE VEGETABLE INDUSTRY AND HYDROPONICS IN KOREA

Korean hydroponic culture industry was started with a gravel culture in 1955s and after the 1980s continued with nutrient culture.
Greenhouse area in Korea was up to 43,900 ha in 1997. About 50% of greenhouses are fixed and the others are changeable.
Only 550 ha of greenhouse area were used for hydroponics (vegetable crops, 73%; flowers, 24%) in 1998. Until 1992, the area for hydroponics was only 13 ha, however, it increased by about 2 times yearly during the next 6 years.
These dramatic increases of hydroponics area in Korea have brought many technical and cultural problems, and much effort was contributed by KSH (Korean Hydroponic Society) and related agricultural institutes as well as the government.
Hydroponic vegetable crops in Korea consists of tomato (38%), cucumber (17%), cherry tomato (14%), sweet pepper (11%), lettuce (9%), and others (11%). In case of flower crops, rose occupied up to 91%. Growing substrates in hydroponics consisted of perlite (50%), rockwool (30%), mixed substrate (8%) and others (13%).

International Symposium on Growing Media and Hydroponics

K.W. Park, Y.S. Kim, Y.B. Lee

deep flow culture, perlite, rockwool, and designed vegetables

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2001.548.5