ISHS Acta Horticulturae 18: Symposium on Peat in Horticulture
THE USE OF PEAT-SAND SUBSTRATES FOR POT CHRYSANTHEMUM CULTURE |
| Author: | A.C. Bunt |
| Abstract:
During the last decade the pot grown chrysanthemum has become the most important pot plant in Britain. There are at present about 30 acres (12. 14 ha) of glasshouses devoted to 'all-year-round' pot chrysanthemum production, with an annual value of £1M, or approximately one quarter of the total value of the pot plant industry. An acre of glass can produce 200,000 5 ½" pots per annum, or about 4,000 per week. Each pot requires approximately 1 litre of substrate, and a one acre unit of glass will, therefore, require about 5 cubic yards of substrate each week (10 cubic meters per hectare per week). Many growers are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain loam of suitable quality in sufficient quantity to meet this need, and this has encouraged the use of other media. This paper is concerned with the use of peat-sand as an alternative to the loam based substrate, with special reference to nutrition and the behaviour of growth retardants when used as substrate additives. | |
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