Growing Media

The Working Group Growing Media organizes symposia, which are mainly focused on:

• advances in sustainable production, processing and use of growing media constituents,
• novel inorganic and organic materials, such as soilless media, and impact of novel substrates on crop production,
• advances in methodology for physical and chemical properties of growing media,
• microbial diversity, resilience and disease suppression in substrates,
• management of water and nutrient requirements of growing media,
• use of composted end-products, such as components of growing media,
• weed, pest and disease control in growing media,
• advances in growing media additives,
• sustainability in soilless production systems,
• advances in peat use sustainability,
• life cycle assessment of growing media and components,
• specification, development and use of “urban” substrates (e.g. for roof gardens, green walls),
• horticultural use of materials from bioenergy processes and biofactories (biochar, digestate, etc.),
• new regulations on growing media.