CUTTING AND CROPPING IN ARTIFICIAL MEDIA

With increasing mechanisation in floriculture, vegetable growing and in arboriculture, an artificial substrate to replace normal potting soil would be a welcome improvement for growing a number of crops.

One advantage of such a method is that, starting with the "pot-in-pot" system, repotting can be mechanized, just as planting in soil blocks for vegetable growing.
This can be labour saving.
Another important point is, that the materials are sterile and homogenous.
A very important factor is that export to countries, which forbid import of plants in normal soil, can be reopened.

When the materials are light in weight, transport costs can be kept low.
This growing method has also some drawbacks for example, the water supply of the plants must be very well controlled.

A complete nutrient solution, based on the local water composition has to be given when watering.
This may be more expensive.

Since most of the substrates have no buffering capacity a nutrient imbalance can be disastrous.

Till 1971 little had been done in the Netherlands, on the growing in artificial media.
We knew that there were some artificial media and in Denmark in 1970 we saw a new one in use, namely rockwool.
It seemed to us a very interesting medium, especially for mechanisation of plant growing.
In 1971 the research programme was started at Wageningen.

Symposium on Peat in Horticulture

F.L.J.A. Verwer

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1975.50.1