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Hoagland solution
Hydroponic nutrient solution

The Hoagland solution (HS) is a hydroponic nutrient solution that was newly developed by Hoagland and Snyder in 1933, modified by Hoagland and Arnon in 1938, and revised by Arnon in 1950. It is one of the most popular standard solution compositions for growing plants, in the scientific world at least, with more than 21,000 citations listed by Google Scholar. The Hoagland solution provides all essential elements for plant nutrition and is appropriate for supporting normal growth of a large variety of plant species.

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Modifications

The artificial solution described by Dennis Hoagland in 1933,6 known as Hoagland solution (0), has been modified several times, mainly to add ferric chelates to keep iron effectively in solution,7 and to optimize the composition and concentration of trace elements other than iron, some of which are not generally credited with a function in plant nutrition.8 In Hoagland's nutrient recipes of 1938, referred to as Hoagland solution (1, 2), the number of trace elements was subsequently reduced to the generally accepted essential elements (B, Mn, Zn, Cu, Mo, Fe, and Cl).9 Later research confirmed that their concentrations had been adjusted for optimal plant growth.10

In Arnon's revision of 1950, only one concentration (Mo 0.011 ppm) was changed compared to 1938 (Mo 0.048 ppm), while the concentration of macronutrients of the Hoagland solutions (0), (1), and (2) remained the same since 1933, with the exception of calcium (Ca 160 ppm) in solution (2).11 The main difference between solution (1) and solution (2) is the different use of nitrate-nitrogen and ammonium-nitrogen based stock solutions to prepare the respective Hoagland solution of interest. Accordingly, the original 1933 and the modified concentrations of 1938 and 1950 for each essential element and sodium are shown below,12 the calculation of the latter values being derived from Tables 1 and 2:

  • N 210 ppm
  • P 31 ppm
  • S 64 ppm
  • Cl 0.14 ppm / 0.65 ppm
  • B 0.11 ppm / 0.5 ppm
  • Na 0 ppm / 0.023 ppm / 1.2 ppm*
  • Mg 48.6 ppm
  • K 235 ppm
  • Ca 200 ppm / 160 ppm
  • Mn 0.11 ppm / 0.5 ppm
  • Zn 0.023 ppm / 0.05 ppm
  • Cu 0.014 ppm / 0.02 ppm
  • Mo 0.018 ppm / 0.048 ppm / 0.011 ppm
  • Fe 1 ppm / 2.9 ppm* / 5 ppm**13

Applications

Plant nutrients are usually absorbed from the soil solution.14 The Hoagland solution, originally intended to imitate a (nutrient-) rich soil solution,15 has high concentrations of N and K so it is very well suited for the development of large plants like tomato and bell pepper.16 For example, a half-strength macronutrient solution (1) of Hoagland can be combined with a full micronutrient solution of Long Ashton or Hewitt and a tenth-strength ferric EDTA solution of Jacobson to fertilize tomato seedlings.17 Due to relatively high concentrations in the aqueous stock solutions (cf. Tables 1 and 2) the Hoagland solution is very good for the growth of plants with lower nutrient demands as well, such as lettuce and aquatic plants, with the further dilution of the preparation to 1⁄4 or 1⁄5 of the original or a modified HS.18

Components

Salts, acids and complex ions to make up the Hoagland hydroponic solution formulations (1) and (2):19

  1. Potassium nitrate, KNO3
  2. Calcium nitrate tetrahydrate, Ca(NO3)2•4H2O
  3. Magnesium sulfate heptahydrate, MgSO4•7H2O
  4. Potassium dihydrogen phosphate, KH2PO4 or
  5. Ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, (NH4)H2PO4
  6. Boric acid, H3BO3
  7. Manganese chloride tetrahydrate, MnCl2•4H2O
  8. Zinc sulfate heptahydrate, ZnSO4•7H2O
  9. Copper sulfate pentahydrate, CuSO4•5H2O
  10. Molybdic acid monohydrate, H2MoO4•H2O or
  11. Sodium molybdate dihydrate, Na2MoO4•2H2O
  12. Ferric tartrate or Iron chelate (Fe-EDDHA−)* or Iron(III)-EDTA−**20

Components for Hoagland solution (1)

To prepare the stock solutions and a full Hoagland solution (1)21

Table 1
ComponentQuantities in solution
g/LmL/L
Macronutrients
2M KNO32022.5
2M Ca(NO3)2•4H2O4722.5
2M MgSO4•7H2O4931
1M KH2PO41361
Micronutrients
H3BO32.861
MnCl2•4H2O1.811
ZnSO4•7H2O0.221
CuSO4•5H2O0.081
H2MoO4•H2O, or0.091
Na2MoO4•2H2O0.121
Iron
C12H12Fe2O18, orSprint 138 iron chelate*51511.5

Components for Hoagland solution (2)

To prepare the stock solutions and a full Hoagland solution (2)22

Table 2
ComponentQuantities in solution
g/LmL/L
Macronutrients
2M KNO32023
2M Ca(NO3)2•4H2O4722
2M MgSO4•7H2O4931
1M NH4H2PO41151
Micronutrients
H3BO32.861
MnCl2•4H2O1.811
ZnSO4•7H2O0.221
CuSO4•5H2O0.081
H2MoO4•H2O0.021
Iron
C12H12Fe2O18, orSprint 138 iron chelate*51511.5

Alternatives for some components

Micronutrients

Sprint 138 iron chelate is produced as Na-Fe-EDDHA (C18H16FeN2NaO6), while Hoagland's original solution formulations contain ferric tartrate (C12H12Fe2O18), but no sodium ions.232425 Synthesizing a sodium-free ferric EDTA complex (C10H12FeN2O8−) in a laboratory is sometimes preferred to buying ready-made products.2627 Variable micronutrients (e.g., Co, Ni) and rather non-essential elements (e.g., Pb, Hg) mentioned in Hoagland's 1933 publication28 (known as "A-Z solutions a and b"29) are no longer included in his later circulars.3031 Most of these metallic elements, as well as organic compounds, are not necessary for normal plant nutrition.32 As an exception, there is evidence that, for example, some algae require cobalt for the synthesis of vitamin B12.33

See also

References

  1. Hoagland, D.R.; Snyder, W.C. (1933). "Nutrition of strawberry plant under controlled conditions. (a) Effects of deficiencies of boron and certain other elements, (b) susceptibility to injury from sodium salts". Proceedings of the American Society for Horticultural Science. 30: 288–294. ↩

  2. Hoagland & Arnon (1938). The water-culture method for growing plants without soil (Circular (California Agricultural Experiment Station), 347. ed.). Berkeley, Calif. : University of California, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station. OCLC 12406778. /wiki/OCLC_(identifier) ↩

  3. Hoagland & Arnon (1950). The water-culture method for growing plants without soil. (Circular (California Agricultural Experiment Station), 347. ed.). Berkeley, Calif. : University of California, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station. (Revision). Retrieved 1 October 2014. https://archive.org/details/watercultureme3450hoag ↩

  4. "The water-culture method for growing plants without soil". Google Scholar. Retrieved 3 February 2020. https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=The%20water-culture%20method%20for%20growing%20plants%20without%20soil&author=Hoagland&publication_year=1950 ↩

  5. Smith, G. S.; Johnston, C. M.; Cornforth, I. S. (1983). "Comparison of nutrient solutions for growth of plants in sand culture". The New Phytologist. 94 (4): 537–548. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.1983.tb04863.x. ISSN 1469-8137. https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1469-8137.1983.tb04863.x ↩

  6. Hoagland, D.R.; Snyder, W.C. (1933). "Nutrition of strawberry plant under controlled conditions. (a) Effects of deficiencies of boron and certain other elements, (b) susceptibility to injury from sodium salts". Proceedings of the American Society for Horticultural Science. 30: 288–294. ↩

  7. Jacobson, L. (1951). "Maintenance of Iron Supply in Nutrient Solutions by a Single Addition of Ferric Potassium Ethylenediamine Tetra-Acetate". Plant Physiology. 26 (2): 411–413. doi:10.1104/pp.26.2.411. PMC 437509. PMID 16654380. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC437509 ↩

  8. Arnon, D.I. (1938). "Microelements in culture-solution experiments with higher plants". American Journal of Botany. 25 (5): 322–325. doi:10.2307/2436754. JSTOR 2436754. /wiki/Doi_(identifier) ↩

  9. Hoagland & Arnon (1938). The water-culture method for growing plants without soil (Circular (California Agricultural Experiment Station), 347. ed.). Berkeley, Calif. : University of California, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station. OCLC 12406778. /wiki/OCLC_(identifier) ↩

  10. van Delden, S.H.; Nazarideljou, M.J.; Marcelis, L.F.M. (2020). "Nutrient solutions for Arabidopsis thaliana: a study on nutrient solution composition in hydroponics systems". Plant Methods. 16 (72): 1–14. doi:10.1186/s13007-020-00606-4. PMC 7324969. PMID 32612669. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7324969 ↩

  11. Hoagland & Arnon (1950). The water-culture method for growing plants without soil. (Circular (California Agricultural Experiment Station), 347. ed.). Berkeley, Calif. : University of California, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station. (Revision). Retrieved 1 October 2014. https://archive.org/details/watercultureme3450hoag ↩

  12. Nagel, K.A.; Lenz, H.; Kastenholz, B.; Gilmer, F.; Averesch, A.; Putz, A.; Heinz, K.; Fischbach, A.; Scharr, H.; Fiorani, F.; Walter, A.; Schurr, U. (2020). "The platform GrowScreen-Agar enables identification of phenotypic diversity in root and shoot growth traits of agar grown plants". Plant Methods. 16 (89): 1–17. doi:10.1186/s13007-020-00631-3. PMC 7310412. PMID 32582364. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7310412 ↩

  13. Jacobson, L. (1951). "Maintenance of Iron Supply in Nutrient Solutions by a Single Addition of Ferric Potassium Ethylenediamine Tetra-Acetate". Plant Physiology. 26 (2): 411–413. doi:10.1104/pp.26.2.411. PMC 437509. PMID 16654380. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC437509 ↩

  14. "Importance of soil solution". Plantlet. Retrieved Aug 26, 2020. https://plantlet.org/importance-of-soil-solution/ ↩

  15. Arrhenius, O. (1922). "Absorption of nutrients and plant growth in relation to hydrogen ion concentration". Journal of General Physiology. 5 (1): 81–88. doi:10.1085/jgp.5.1.81. PMC 2140552. PMID 19871980. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2140552 ↩

  16. Genzel, F.; Dicke, M. D.; Junker-Frohn, L. V.; Neuwohner, A.; Thiele, B.; Putz, A.; Usadel, B.; Wormit, A.; Wiese-Klinkenberg, A. (2021). "Impact of moderate cold and salt stress on the accumulation of antioxidant flavonoids in the leaves of two Capsicum cultivars". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 69 (23): 6431–6443. doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.1c00908. PMID 34081868. S2CID 235335939. https://doi.org/10.1021%2Facs.jafc.1c00908 ↩

  17. He, F.; Thiele, B.; Watt, M.; Kraska, T.; Ulbrich, A.; Kuhn, A. J. (2019). "Effects of root cooling on plant growth and fruit quality of cocktail tomato during two consecutive seasons". Journal of Food Quality. Article ID 3598172: 1–15. doi:10.1155/2019/3598172. https://doi.org/10.1155%2F2019%2F3598172 ↩

  18. "The Hoaglands Solution for Hydroponic Cultivation". Science in Hydroponics. Retrieved 1 October 2014. http://scienceinhydroponics.com/2009/02/the-hoaglands-solution-for-hydroponic-cultivation.html ↩

  19. Epstein E. (1972). Mineral Nutrition of Plants: Principles and Perspectives. John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp. 412. /wiki/Mineral_Nutrition_of_Plants:_Principles_and_Perspectives ↩

  20. Jacobson, L. (1951). "Maintenance of Iron Supply in Nutrient Solutions by a Single Addition of Ferric Potassium Ethylenediamine Tetra-Acetate". Plant Physiology. 26 (2): 411–413. doi:10.1104/pp.26.2.411. PMC 437509. PMID 16654380. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC437509 ↩

  21. Hoagland & Arnon (1938). The water-culture method for growing plants without soil (Circular (California Agricultural Experiment Station), 347. ed.). Berkeley, Calif. : University of California, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station. OCLC 12406778. /wiki/OCLC_(identifier) ↩

  22. Hoagland & Arnon (1950). The water-culture method for growing plants without soil. (Circular (California Agricultural Experiment Station), 347. ed.). Berkeley, Calif. : University of California, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station. (Revision). Retrieved 1 October 2014. https://archive.org/details/watercultureme3450hoag ↩

  23. Hoagland, D.R.; Snyder, W.C. (1933). "Nutrition of strawberry plant under controlled conditions. (a) Effects of deficiencies of boron and certain other elements, (b) susceptibility to injury from sodium salts". Proceedings of the American Society for Horticultural Science. 30: 288–294. ↩

  24. Hoagland & Arnon (1938). The water-culture method for growing plants without soil (Circular (California Agricultural Experiment Station), 347. ed.). Berkeley, Calif. : University of California, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station. OCLC 12406778. /wiki/OCLC_(identifier) ↩

  25. Hoagland & Arnon (1950). The water-culture method for growing plants without soil. (Circular (California Agricultural Experiment Station), 347. ed.). Berkeley, Calif. : University of California, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station. (Revision). Retrieved 1 October 2014. https://archive.org/details/watercultureme3450hoag ↩

  26. Jacobson, L. (1951). "Maintenance of Iron Supply in Nutrient Solutions by a Single Addition of Ferric Potassium Ethylenediamine Tetra-Acetate". Plant Physiology. 26 (2): 411–413. doi:10.1104/pp.26.2.411. PMC 437509. PMID 16654380. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC437509 ↩

  27. Nagel, K.A.; Lenz, H.; Kastenholz, B.; Gilmer, F.; Averesch, A.; Putz, A.; Heinz, K.; Fischbach, A.; Scharr, H.; Fiorani, F.; Walter, A.; Schurr, U. (2020). "The platform GrowScreen-Agar enables identification of phenotypic diversity in root and shoot growth traits of agar grown plants". Plant Methods. 16 (89): 1–17. doi:10.1186/s13007-020-00631-3. PMC 7310412. PMID 32582364. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7310412 ↩

  28. Hoagland, D.R.; Snyder, W.C. (1933). "Nutrition of strawberry plant under controlled conditions. (a) Effects of deficiencies of boron and certain other elements, (b) susceptibility to injury from sodium salts". Proceedings of the American Society for Horticultural Science. 30: 288–294. ↩

  29. Schropp, W.; Arenz, B. (1942). "Über die Wirkung der A-Z-Lösungen nach Hoagland und einiger ihrer Bestandteile auf das Pflanzenwachstum". Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science. 26 (4–5): 198–246. doi:10.1002/jpln.19420260403. /wiki/Doi_(identifier) ↩

  30. Hoagland & Arnon (1938). The water-culture method for growing plants without soil (Circular (California Agricultural Experiment Station), 347. ed.). Berkeley, Calif. : University of California, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station. OCLC 12406778. /wiki/OCLC_(identifier) ↩

  31. Hoagland & Arnon (1950). The water-culture method for growing plants without soil. (Circular (California Agricultural Experiment Station), 347. ed.). Berkeley, Calif. : University of California, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station. (Revision). Retrieved 1 October 2014. https://archive.org/details/watercultureme3450hoag ↩

  32. Murashige, T; Skoog, F (1962). "A revised medium for rapid growth and bio assays with tobacco tissue cultures". Physiologia Plantarum. 15 (3): 473–497. doi:10.1111/j.1399-3054.1962.tb08052.x. S2CID 84645704. /wiki/Doi_(identifier) ↩

  33. Kumudha, A.; Selvakumar, S.; Dilshad, P.; Vaidyanathan, G.; Thakur, M.S.; Sarada, R. (2015). "Methylcobalamin – a form of vitamin B12 identified and characterised in Chlorella vulgaris". Food Chemistry. 170: 316–320. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.08.035. PMID 25306351. /wiki/Doi_(identifier) ↩