Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 164 |
| Journal | Horticulturae |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| Early online date | 28 Jun 2021 |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2021 |
Abstract
Due to the major environmental impact of peat-based growing media production and the need of lowering greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors, a wider application of peat substitutes in growing media is requested. All peat substitutes under use have constraints associated with their properties. Therefore, a preliminary test procedure for identifying new raw materials as peat substitutes in growing media was developed and validated. By applying the preliminary test procedure, the potential limitations of cultivation of potential peat substitutes are indicated, and measures for cultivation regulation are recommended. For the development of the new preliminary test procedure, four raw materials were investigated: composted heather, alder, cattail, and reed. The preliminary test procedure comprises several material and technological criteria as well as aspects of plant cultivation, enabling the evaluation of the raw materials and the processed components for growing media. Results derived from the preliminary test procedure were checked and confirmed by experiments with horticultural crops in different sections of commercial horticulture. Within two years, the identification of new peat substitutes was possible by the application of the preliminary test procedure and its test criteria, which provide a structure for the systematic investigation of potential new peat substitutes starting with the raw material.
Keywords
- Alder, Cattail, Decision tree, Feasibility, Growing media, Heather, Peat reduction, Peat substitute, Reed
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Plant Science
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Horticulture
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In: Horticulturae, Vol. 7, No. 7, 164, 07.2021.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - First steps toward a test procedure to identify peat substitutes for growing media by means of chemical, physical and biological material characteristics
AU - Leiber-Sauheitl, Katharina
AU - Bohne, Heike
AU - Böttcher, Jürgen
N1 - Funding Information: This research was funded by Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, Germany, and the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer protection of Lower Saxony, Germany. The publication of this article was funded by the Open Access Fund of the Leibniz Universit?t Hannover, Germany.Acknowledgments: The author wishes to thank Gebrueder Brill GmbH for providing the raw materials and substrates and Olde Bolhaar for composting. We thank Gebrueder Brill GmbH, G?rtnerei Schulze Eckel, Baumschule zur M?hlen, and Gartenbau Kupke for cooperation during the tests under practical conditions. We are grateful to the technical staff of the Institute of Soil Science in Hannover for laboratory assistance.
PY - 2021/7
Y1 - 2021/7
N2 - Due to the major environmental impact of peat-based growing media production and the need of lowering greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors, a wider application of peat substitutes in growing media is requested. All peat substitutes under use have constraints associated with their properties. Therefore, a preliminary test procedure for identifying new raw materials as peat substitutes in growing media was developed and validated. By applying the preliminary test procedure, the potential limitations of cultivation of potential peat substitutes are indicated, and measures for cultivation regulation are recommended. For the development of the new preliminary test procedure, four raw materials were investigated: composted heather, alder, cattail, and reed. The preliminary test procedure comprises several material and technological criteria as well as aspects of plant cultivation, enabling the evaluation of the raw materials and the processed components for growing media. Results derived from the preliminary test procedure were checked and confirmed by experiments with horticultural crops in different sections of commercial horticulture. Within two years, the identification of new peat substitutes was possible by the application of the preliminary test procedure and its test criteria, which provide a structure for the systematic investigation of potential new peat substitutes starting with the raw material.
AB - Due to the major environmental impact of peat-based growing media production and the need of lowering greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors, a wider application of peat substitutes in growing media is requested. All peat substitutes under use have constraints associated with their properties. Therefore, a preliminary test procedure for identifying new raw materials as peat substitutes in growing media was developed and validated. By applying the preliminary test procedure, the potential limitations of cultivation of potential peat substitutes are indicated, and measures for cultivation regulation are recommended. For the development of the new preliminary test procedure, four raw materials were investigated: composted heather, alder, cattail, and reed. The preliminary test procedure comprises several material and technological criteria as well as aspects of plant cultivation, enabling the evaluation of the raw materials and the processed components for growing media. Results derived from the preliminary test procedure were checked and confirmed by experiments with horticultural crops in different sections of commercial horticulture. Within two years, the identification of new peat substitutes was possible by the application of the preliminary test procedure and its test criteria, which provide a structure for the systematic investigation of potential new peat substitutes starting with the raw material.
KW - Alder
KW - Cattail
KW - Decision tree
KW - Feasibility
KW - Growing media
KW - Heather
KW - Peat reduction
KW - Peat substitute
KW - Reed
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85109884337&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/horticulturae7070164
DO - 10.3390/horticulturae7070164
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85109884337
VL - 7
JO - Horticulturae
JF - Horticulturae
IS - 7
M1 - 164
ER -