scholarly journals Coir as an Alternative to Peat in Media for Tomato Transplant Production

HortScience ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Arenas ◽  
C.S. Vavrina ◽  
J.A. Cornell ◽  
E.A. Hanlon ◽  
G.J. Hochmuth

Sixteen media prepared from peat, coir, vermiculite, or perlite were used to determine the optimum growing media for tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.) transplants. Medium composition did not affect tomato seed emergence, although seedling emergence was higher in winter (90%) than summer (85%). Greatest transplant root dry weight, stem diameter, and leaf area were achieved in 50% to 75% peat + 25% to 50% vermiculite in summer. In winter, greatest transplant root dry weight, stem diameter, and leaf area were achieved in eight media: 100% peat, 75% peat + 25% vermiculite, 75% peat + 25% perlite, 50% peat + 50% vermiculite, 50% peat + 50% perlite, 25% peat + 50% coir + 25% vermiculite, 50% peat + 25%coir + 25% vermiculite, and 25% peat +25% coir +25% vermiculite +25% perlite. Transplants grown with >50% coir exhibited reduced plant growth compared to peat-grown transplants, a response that may be associated with high N immobilization by microorganisms and high C:N ratio. Despite transplant growth differences during the summer, fruit yields generally were unaffected by transplant media.

HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 488e-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica P. Ozores-Hampton ◽  
Charles Vavrina ◽  
Thomas A. Obreza

Large volumes of a compost made by mixing and co-composting yard trimmings (YT) and biosolids (BS) feedstocks have recently become available to the Florida vegetable industry. Compost used as vegetable transplant medium may be less expensive than traditional Sphagnum peatmoss, which is a non-renewable resource. `Agriset 761' tomato seed were planted in five combinations of compost, peat, and vermiculite media: 0:70:30 (control), 18:52:30, 35:35:30, 52:18:30, and 70:0:30 by weight, respectively. The presence of compost in the media increased leaf area, shoot dry weight, and number of leaves 21 days after treatment (DAT), and leaf area, shoot dry weight, root dry weight 28 DAT compared with the control. There were no differences in root dry weight 21 DAT and number of leaves 28 DAT between treatments containing compost and the control. Plants in the compost treatments had greater final leaf area, shoot dry weight, root dry weight, and stem diameter but less chlorophyll content compared with the control. There was no effect of compost rate on any of the response variables measured. Neither final leaf number nor stem length were affected by media composition. The results suggest that YT/BS co-compost can be used as an alternative to peat media for tomato transplant production, and that the rate of use is not critical.


HortScience ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 553f-553
Author(s):  
Jim E. Wyatt ◽  
Marla C. Akridge

Tomato transplants were grown in plastic foam trays floated in nutrient solutions using a system adapted from tobacco transplant growers. Nutrient solutions were compared which contained equivalent amounts of nitrogen and potassium and either 35 or 70 mg·liter-1 phosphorus (P). Growing media tested were 1) Jiffy-Mix*, 2) Pro-Mix®, 3) horticultural vermiculite, or 4) perlite. The higher P rate caused increases in stem diameter, and in plant fresh and dry weight. Plant height, root dry weight and leaf area were not affected by P rate. Transplants grown in Pro-Mix® had significantly greater plant height and stem diameter than other media. Leaf area, and plant fresh and dry weight did not differ between Pro-Mix* and Jiffy-Mix@. Vermiculite and perlite produced smaller tomato transplants and should not be considered when using this production system.


2021 ◽  
Vol 232 ◽  
pp. 03024
Author(s):  
Agus Miftakhurrohmat ◽  
Sutarman

This study aims to determine the effect of bacterial isolates of Bacillus subtilis Bs-Sdj-01 and Trichoderma sp. Tc-Jro-02 isolates as biological fertilizer in plant growth until the end of the vegetative phase. The experiment was arranged factorially in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with each factor being the application of B. subtilis consisting of and without B. subtilis and the Trichoderma application consisting of with and without Trichoderma; the experiment was repeated four times. The observed variables were: plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf area, stover dry weight, root dry weight, and B. subtilis population at the end of the observation. Data were analyzed using with ANOVA and HSD tests at the 5% level. The combination of Trichoderma sp. and B. subtilis bacteria produce the highest increase in plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf area, stover dry weight, and root dry weight of soybean plants up to 35 days after planting and increase B. subtilis population grew from 1010 CFU.g-1 to be 4.43x1011 CFU.g-1. The presence of Trichoderma supports the activity of B. subtilis in the rhizosphere of the Detam variety soybean plantation.


HortScience ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 837C-837
Author(s):  
Kent D. Kobayashi*

Controlling plant height is an important practice in the ornamental plant industry. With high cost of growth regulators and concern about their environmental aspects and health of workers, alternative ways of controlling growth may be advantageous. Objective was to determine effect of photoselective shadecloth and plastic film on growth of `Barbara', `Shasta', and `Chesapeake' mums under supplemental lighting. In experiment 1, `Barbara' plants (two and four weeks old) were placed under either wide spectrum fluorescent lamps and incandescent light bulbs (control) or lights covered with photoselective shadecloth. In experiment 2, 3-week-old `Shasta' and `Chesapeake' plants were placed under lights or lights covered with photoselective plastic film. Effect of shadecloth differed with age of `Barbara' plants. For 1-month-old plants placed under lights, stem diameter, stem dry weight, and root dry weight were reduced under shadecloth compared to control. No differences were observed for plant height, pot height, leaf number, leaf area/plant, and leaf dry weight. For 2-week-old plants, leaf number, leaf area/plant, leaf dry weight, and stem dry weight were less under shadecloth than control. No effects on plant height, pot height, stem diameter, and root dry weight were observed. Plastic film reduced plant height and pot height for `Shasta' and `Chesapeake' plants and reduced stem dry weight and total plant dry weight for `Shasta'. No differences were seen for other growth measurements. This study indicated photoselective shadecloth did not control height of `Barbara' and its effect on growth was influenced by plant age. Photoselective plastic film controlled height of `Shasta' and `Chesapeake' and offers an alternative method for growth control of mum plants.


Author(s):  
K.H. Widdup ◽  
T.L. Knight ◽  
C.J. Waters

Slow establishment of caucasian clover (Trifolium ambiguum L.) is hindering the use of this legume in pasture mixtures. Improved genetic material is one strategy of correcting the problem. Newly harvested seed of hexaploid caucasian clover germplasm covering a range of origins, together with white and red clover and lucerne, were sown in 1 m rows in a Wakanui soil at Lincoln in November 1995. After 21 days, the caucasian clover material as a group had similar numbers of emerged seedlings as white clover and lucerne, but was inferior to red clover. There was wide variation among caucasian clover lines (48-70% seedling emergence), with the cool-season selection from cv. Monaro ranked the highest. Recurrent selection at low temperatures could be used to select material with improved rates of seedling emergence. Red clover and lucerne seedlings produced significantly greater shoot and root dry weight than caucasian and white clover seedlings. Initially, caucasian clover seedlings partitioned 1:1 shoot to root dry weight compared with 3:1 for white clover. After 2 months, caucasian clover seedlings had similar shoot growth but 3 times the root growth of white clover. Between 2 and 5 months, caucasian clover partitioned more to root and rhizome growth, resulting in a 0.3:1 shoot:root ratio compared with 2:1 for white clover. Both clover species had similar total dry weight after 5 months. Unhindered root/ rhizome devel-opment is very important to hasten the establishment phase of caucasian clover. The caucasian clover lines KZ3 and cool-season, both selections from Monaro, developed seedlings with greater shoot and root growth than cv. Monaro. KZ3 continued to produce greater root growth after 5 months, indicating the genetic potential for improvement in seedling growth rate. Different pasture estab-lishment techniques are proposed that take account of the seedling growth characteristics of caucasian clover. Keywords: establishment, genetic variation, growth, seedling emergence, Trifolium ambiguum


Horticulturae ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 274
Author(s):  
Ademola Adetunji ◽  
Sershen ◽  
Boby Varghese ◽  
Norman Pammenter

Aged seeds exhibit compromised vigour in terms of germination, seedling emergence and growth, but this can to some extent be alleviated by invigoration treatments before sowing. This study aimed to investigate ageing rates and patterns in cabbage (Brassica oleraceae) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa) seeds and whether the beneficial effects of invigorating aged seeds with exogenous antioxidants translate to enhanced seedling performance. Seeds were artificially aged to 25% viability before soaking in 0.4 mM glycerol, 0.6 mM GSH and 0.2 mM trolox for cabbage, and 0.6 mM glycerol, GSH and trolox for lettuce; deionised water served as a control. After 14 days of sowing, seedling emergence percentage, mean emergence time, mean daily emergence, and time taken to 25% emergence were computed. Seedling vigour index, root and shoot dry weight, root:shoot ratio, leaf area, leaf area ratio, and leaf chlorophyll content were assessed 6 weeks after sowing. Furthermore, the photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), transpiration rate (E), and chlorophyll fluorescence were measured 6 weeks after sowing. Notably, ageing resulted in the loss of seed vigour and viability at higher rates in lettuce than cabbage. Seed pretreatment with glycerol promoted seedling growth in both species and shoot dry weight in lettuce, while glycerol and GSH enhanced Pn, Gs and E in lettuce. Trolox also enhanced Pn and E in lettuce. The beneficial effects of the antioxidant treatments are thought to be associated with the protection of photosystems from oxidative stress and/or stimulation of enzymes involved in photosynthesis, possibly through an enhanced antioxidant defence system during the early development stages when seedlings are particularly vulnerable to stress.


1989 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 293 ◽  
Author(s):  
DR Eagling ◽  
RJ Sward ◽  
GM Halloran

Measurements were made on the effect of barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) infection on the early growth of four commercial cultivars of ryegrass (Lolium spp.) under two different temperatures (24�C and 16�C). At 24'C, BYDV infection was associated with reduced root dry weight (30-40%) in all cultivars; the effect of infection on shoot dry weight and leaf area was variable. At 16�C, the effect of BYDV infection was variable, being associated with increases in root dry weight, shoot dry weight, and leaf area in one cultivar (Grasslands Ariki) and decreases in another (Victorian). In two other cultivars, root dry weight, shoot dry weight and leaf area were not significantly affected (P>0.05) by infection with BYDV.At 24�C, the reductions in root dry weight associated with BYDV infection were not concomitant with reductions in the root relative growth rates. Up to at least 28 days after inoculation (46-50 days after germination) reductions in root dry weight were associated with both aphid-feeding damage and virus infection. Experiments with the cultivar Victorian, showed that shoot dry weight was not significantly affected (P>0.05) by feeding with viruliferous (BYDV) or non-viruliferous aphids (Rhopalosiphum padi L.). At 16�C, changes in root and shoot dry weight were associated with changes in the root and shoot relative growth rates.


Pastura ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Roni N.G.K. ◽  
S.A. Lindawati

The productivity of forage depends on the availability of nutrients in the soil where it is grown, so fertilization to replace harvested produce is absolutely necessary. This study aims to study the response of gamal and indigofera forage on application of inorganic and organic fertilizers. Research using a completely randomized design factorial pattern of two factors, the first factor is the type of plant (G = Gamal; I = Indigofera) and the second factor is the type of fertilizer (T = without Fertilizer; A = Inorganic fertilizer NPK; K = commercial organic fertilizer; O = conventional organic fertilizer; B = bioorganic fertilizer), repeated 4 times so that it consists of 40 experimental units. The variables observed were plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter, leaf dry weight, stem dry weight, total dry weight of leaves, ratio of dry weight of leaves/stems and leaf area per pot. The results showed that there was no interaction between plant species and types of fertilizer in influencing the response of gamal and indigofera plants. Plant species have a significant effect on stem diameter, while fertilizer types have a significant effect on plant height, leaf dry weight, total dry weight of leaves and leaf area per pot. Based on the results of the study it can be concluded that the response of gamal plants is similar to indigofera, all types of fertilizers can improve the response of plants and organic fertilizers produce the same crop response with inorganic fertilizers. Keywords: gamal, indigofera, inorganic fertilizer, organic fertilizer


1970 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-73
Author(s):  
M SH Islam ◽  
MSU Bhuiya ◽  
AR Gomosta ◽  
AR Sarkar ◽  
MM Hussain

Pot experiments were conducted during T. aman 2001 and 2002 (wet season) at Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) in net house. Hybrid variety Sonarbangla-1 and inbred modern variety BRRI dhan-31 were used in both the seasons and BRRI hybrid dhan-l was used in 2002. The main objective of the experiments was to compare the growth and yield behaviour of hybrid and inbred rice varieties under controlled condition. In 2001, BRRI dhan-3l had about 10-15% higher plant height, very similar tillers/plant, 15-25% higher leaf area at all days after transplanting (DAT) compared to Sonarbangla-1. Sonarbangla- 1 had about 40% higher dry matter production at 25 DAT but had very similar dry matter production at 50 and 75 DAT, 4-11% higher rooting depth at all DATs, about 22% higher root dry weight at 25 DAT, but 5-10% lower root dry weight at 50 and 75 DAT compared to BRRI dhan-31. The photosynthetic rate was higher (20 μ mol m-2/sec-1) in BRRI dhan-3l at 35 DAT (maximum tillering stage) but at 65 DAT, Sonarbangla-l had higher photosynthetic rate of 19.5 μ mol m-2 sec-1. BRRI dhan-3l had higher panicles/plant than Sonarbangla-1, but Sonarbangla-1 had higher number of grains/panicle, 1000-grain weight and grain yield than BRRI dhan-31. In 2002, BRRI dhan-31 had the highest plant height at 25 DAT, but at 75 DAT, BRRI hybrid dhan-l had the highest plant height. Sonarbangla-1 had the largest leaf area at 25 and 50 DAT followed by BRRI dhan-31, but at 75 DAT, BRRI dhan-31 had the largest leaf area. The highest shoot dry matter was observed in BRRI dhan-31 followed by Sonarbangla-1 at all DATs. Sonarbangla-1 had the highest rooting depth and root dry weight at all DATs. BRRI dhan-31 gave the highest number of panicles/plant followed by Sonarbangla-I, BRRI hybrid dhan-l had the highest grains/panicle followed by BRRI dhan-31 and Sonarbangla-I had the highest 1000-grain weight followed by BRRI dhan-31. The highest amount of grains/plant (34.6 g) was obtained from BRRI dhan-31. Key Words: Shoot dry matter; root dry weight; leaf area; photosynthesis; grain yield. DOI: 10.3329/bjar.v34i1.5755Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 34(1) : 67-73, March 2009


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
U. L. Edem ◽  
E. E. Ekerette

The continuous destruction of our rainforest has threatened the existence of many useful and multipurpose plant species such as Tetrapleura tetraptera. To revert this situation, efforts must be made towards its sustainable use by encouraging reforestation which entails raising of seedlings for mass propagation of this crop. This study was aimed at comparing the effects of organic (chicken litter) and inorganic (NPK 15:15:15) fertilizers on seedling growth in four accessions of Tetrapleura tetraptera and hence determining fertilizer preference for this forest species. The Complete Randomized Design (CRD) was used in a factorial arrangement with four accessions and three fertilizer types in eight replicates. One month after transplanting, the fertilizers (organic and inorganic) were uniformly applied at the rate of 45 kg/hectare according to the experimental design. Data were collected monthly for a period of three months on plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, leaf length, member of branches, number of leaves, primary and secondary internode length per plant. Data on seedling emergence were also taken. Data collected were subjected to a two-way analysis of variance. Least significant difference (LSD) was used to separate significant means at p = 0.05. Result obtained revealed that the soil was rich in calcium, phosphorus and organic matter but low in nitrogen and potassium which were adequately complemented in mean days to seedling emergence in four accessions studied. Our findings also revealed that the organic (chicken litter) fertilizer did better (P<0.05) in all accessions than inorganic (NPK 15:15:15) fertilizer for all morphological traits studied. The performance of Cross River accession was outstanding as illustrated by the significant interaction obtained in most parameters. With chicken, litter fertilizer, Cross River accession produced the tallest plant (27.38 cm), largest leaf area (1.99 cm2), highest number of branches (20.13), highest number of leaves (66.75), longest stem diameter (0.93 cm), longest leaf length (1.94 cm), lowest primary (0.80) and lowest secondary (0.83) internode length. The use of organic fertilizers is therefore recommended for improved seedling growth of Tetrapleura tetraptera.


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