Response of Interspecific Geraniums to Waste Wood Fiber Substrates and Additional Fertilization

Abstract

Promotion of sustainable horticulture via wider use of peat substrate substitutes makes wood fiber an increasingly popular substrate component. Interspecific geraniums are plants of huge potential in the floriculture market, but there are not enough specific guidelines on their cultivation. This study investigated the effectiveness of enriching peat substrate with 10%, 20%, 30%, or 40% (by volume) waste wood fiber in the pot cultivation of interspecific geraniums cv. ‘Calliope Dark Red’. It also examined plant response to additional fertilization with nitrogen in the form of Ca(NO3)2. Plants grown in the substrate with 10% and 20% of wood fiber did not differ in the leaf greening index, flower weight, and visual score from the plants grown in control (100% peat substrate). Wood fiber content of 40% negatively affected all growth parameters and leaf content of macro- and micronutrients. The plants growing in the peat substrate enriched with 20% of waste wood fiber and fertilized with nitrogen had the highest leaf greenness index, the greatest number of flowers, and the highest content of N, P, Ca, Na, Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn. In summary, the study demonstrated that high quality ornamental plants can be successfully grown in peat substrate containing 20% of waste wood fiber and additionally fertilized with nitrogen.

Improving Containerized Nursery Crop Sustainability: Effects of Conservation-driven Adaptations in Soilless Substrate and Water Use on Plant Growth and Soil-borne Disease Development

“…Future studies with a balanced design may provide more robust information on substrate performance. Previous work has shown that the addition of nitrogen fertilizer to wood fiber substrates can ameliorate negative impacts on growth (Gruda and Schnitzler, 1999;Zawadzi nska et al, 2021). It is possible that the low fertilizer rates used in the study enhanced the differential effects of this substrate compared with bark and peat.…”

Influence of Compost from Post-Consumer Wood on Development, Nutrition State of Plants, Microbiological and Biochemical Parameters of Substrates in Zonal Pelargonium (Pelargonium zonale)

“…The values of SPAD depend significantly on the nutrition of plants with nitrogen [24,25]. In the study conducted by Zawadzińska et al [26] the highest leaf greenness index was noted in interspecific pelargonium cultivated in peat enriched with 20% of wood fiber. However, Wolna-Maruwka et al [11] and Wróblewska et al [27,28] stated that SPAD depends on the compost composition and its percentage in the substrate used for plant cultivation.…”

“…Others plants revealed a similar number of inflorescences when compared with the control. According to the literature, the influence on the flowering process is significantly dependent on the species, compost composition and its percentage in the substrate [11,23,26,27].…”

Effects of Compost, Fertilization, Rhizobacteria and Mycorrhiza Applications on Growth, Flowering and Bulb Quality of ‘Jan van Nes’ Tulip Varieties

“…In this study, plants grown in 0% compost exhibited better growth than those in the other applications. Effects of growing media on flowering process and plant growth are highly dependent on species, compost composition and percentage (Wolna-Maruwka et al, 2017;Zawadzińska et al, 2021;Schroeter-Zakrzewska et al, 2021).…”