Compost-based Nursery Substrates: Effect of Peat Substitution on Organic Melon Seedlings

Tittarelli, Fabio; Rea, Elvira; Verrastro, Vincenzo; Pascual, José Antonio; Canali, Stefano; Ceglie, F.G.; Trinchera, Alessandra; Rivera, C. M.

doi:10.1080/1065657x.2009.10702427

Cited by 37 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…In case of pH (Fig 1A), the model predicts that the highest pH values are obtained with mixtures with GC as main component and SP in the minimal proportion. This fact is in accordance with the increase of pH with the increasing percentage of compost reported in other experiments of peat substitution using compost [16]. Concerning the salinity (Fig 1B), to obtain growing media with EC values lower than 2 dS m -1 using these ingredients, the proportions of the component GC must be lower than 30% v/v, being the mixtures with the highest percentage of SP in the mixture within the area corresponding to the lowest EC values.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

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The Challenge of Peat Substitution in Organic Seedling Production: Optimization of Growing Media Formulation through Mixture Design and Response Surface Analysis

et al. 2015

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Peat replacement is an increasing demand in containerized and transplant production, due to the environmental constraints associated to peat use. However, despite the wide information concerning the use of alternative materials as substrates, it is very complex to establish the best materials and mixtures. This work evaluates the use of mixture design and surface response methodology in a peat substitution experiment using two alternative materials (green compost and palm fibre trunk waste) for transplant production of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.); melon, (Cucumis melo L.); and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in organic farming conditions. In general, the substrates showed suitable properties for their use in seedling production, showing the best plant response the mixture of 20% green compost, 39% palm fibre and 31% peat. The mixture design and applied response surface methodology has shown to be an useful approach to optimize substrate formulations in peat substitution experiments to standardize plant responses.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

“…In the growing media, pH, EC and bulk density were determined according to the standard European norms described by Tittarelli et al [16]. Water holding capacity of the growing media under different negative pressures was analysed in a sandbox (Eijkelkamp Giesbeek, The Netherlands).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Challenge of Peat Substitution in Organic Seedling Production: Optimization of Growing Media Formulation through Mixture Design and Response Surface Analysis

et al. 2015

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“…The lack of homogenous characteristics of compost, the risk of high salinity level and the potential phytotoxicity of unstable products were demonstrated to be limiting factors for a total peat substitution, for the main cultivated vegetable crops (Clark and Cavigelli 2005;Perez-Murcia et al 2006;Ostos et al 2008, Tittarelli et al 2009). For these reasons, a partial peat substitution with compost is considered a more sustainable technical solution (Baran et al 2001;Garcia-Gomez et al 2002;Papafotiou et al 2004;Bustamante et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Olive Pomace and Green Waste Composts As Peat Substitutes for Organic Tomato Seedling Production

Ceglie

Elshafie

Verrastro

et al. 2011

Compost Science & Utilization

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Compost based substrates for producing organic tomato seedlings (Lycopersicum esculentum L. cv. Rio Grande) were evaluated in a peat substitution experiment. Two composts made from olive pomace waste (OWC) and green waste (GWC) were produced and characterized, in comparison with a sphagnum peat moss, for the main physicochemical parameters and for their germination index. Both composts were used as growing media components at four rates (20%, 45%, 70%, 90% on a volume basis) and their performances were compared to peat based control growing media. During plant growth, nitrogen was added as blood meal. Plants were collected 36 days after sowing, plant performance parameters (stem length, leaves, stem and total fresh and dry biomass, leaves number and chlorophyll content values), and NPK shoot contents were measured. Treatments GWC 20%, 45% and OWC 20% showed the best performances, while 70% for green waste compost and 45% for olive pomace compost could be considered as upper limits for producing satisfactory organic tomato seedlings.

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“…Organic growing media originating from a wide variety of organic wastes or harvest by-products have been widely adapted in the ornamental horticulture industry (Abad et al 2001;Dede et al 2010;Olszewski et al 2009). During the last decade, interest has developed in using composted waste organic residues as a growing medium component and peat substitute in horticulture (Tittarelli et al 2009). However, by its very nature, organic materials alone or their biodegradation by-products are characterized by hydrophobicity or water repellency (Doerr et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improvement of the Wettability Properties of Compost Using Seaweed

Özdemir

Dede

Çelebi

2014

Compost Science & Utilization

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Composting substrate components from a wide variety of organic materials are becoming more prevalent in ornamental growing medium mixes. Hazelnut husk (HH) and seaweed (HHSW) composts were investigated for their different hydro-physical roles in substrate dynamics. The water repellent material HH was composted either solely or mixed with seaweed (1:1 by volume) and the hydro-physical properties related to the water retention and wettability of the two composts were evaluated using the water drop penetration (WDPT) and molarity of ethanol droplet (MED) tests and contact angle (u) determination. The addition of seaweed to the HH compost mixture had positive effects on the water holding capacity, water conductivity, air porosity, and wettability characteristics compared to pure HH compost. Although both composts exhibited signs of hydrophobicity under dry conditions, the repellency rate was more severe in the pure HH compost. The wettability tests results indicate that seaweed improved the hydrophobicity of HH compost by at least two ranking classes, from severe hydrophobicity to moderate hydrophobicity. Also, the contact angle reduced from 107 to 103 by composting seaweed. Seaweed was found to have an influence on the hydrological properties when incorporated as a compost component with the HH substrate.

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Compost-based Nursery Substrates: Effect of Peat Substitution on Organic Melon Seedlings

Cited by 37 publications

References 25 publications

The Challenge of Peat Substitution in Organic Seedling Production: Optimization of Growing Media Formulation through Mixture Design and Response Surface Analysis

The Challenge of Peat Substitution in Organic Seedling Production: Optimization of Growing Media Formulation through Mixture Design and Response Surface Analysis

Evaluation of Olive Pomace and Green Waste Composts As Peat Substitutes for Organic Tomato Seedling Production

Improvement of the Wettability Properties of Compost Using Seaweed

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