ISHS Acta Horticulturae 238: Symposium on Substrates in Horticulture other than Soils in situ
COMPARATIVE GROWTH AND CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RIBES SANGUINIUM AND HEBE BUXAFOLIA GROWN IN MANURE-MILLED PEAT AND CONVENTIONAL MOSS PEAT COMPOSTS |
| Authors: | B. O'Dwyer, M.A. Morgan, P.O. Toole |
| Abstract:
Cattle manure and milled peat were combined to provide composts with the same initial content of N or K as the Kinsealy Range Mix. The composts were compared with the Range Mix and with an Osmocote preparation for growth and chemical characteristics of Ribes sanguinium and Hebe buxafolia. Mortality was high among Ribes plants where the manure was used as the source of N. Hebe, however, was not sensitive to the high salt conditions associated with use of manure as the N source. Each species grew quite well where the manure was used to supply K. There was little overall difference in the physical or visual attributes of plants that survived in the manure based composts compared with those grown in the Range Mix or Osmocote substrates. Leaf P content remained relatively constant in the different media but N and K concentrations showed significant variation. Foliar Mn tended to be lower in the manure based media. The Cu content of both species was consistently low, regardless of compost. In the absence of visual foliar symptoms at the end of growth, however, it may be concluded that these observations are of little practical significance and that the observed data for foliar chemical content are typical of the species. | |
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