ISHS Acta Horticulturae 287: II International Symposium on Protected Cultivation of Vegetables in Mild Winter Climates
HYDROPONIC PRODUCTION OF GLASSHOUSE TOMATOES IN SARDINIAN PLASTER-GRADE PERLITE |
| Authors: | G.M. Hitchon, D.A. Hall, R.A.K. Szmidt |
| Abstract:
The development of the hydroponic perlite culture system of protected crop production at the West of Scotland College has been based, hitherto, on coarse, 'horticultural-grade' expanded perlite which has 90% by volume in the range 1–5 mm. Recent work has compared crop performance of glasshouse tomatoes in horticultural-grade perlite with that in two Sardinian plaster-grades which have much finer particle-size distributions, one with 90% by volume in the range 0.6–1.4 mm, the other 90% by volume <1 mm. Cumulative yields of fruit were similar in each of the three grades of perlite to the end of August in 1987 and to the end of September in 1988. Hence, although the air-filled porosity of the Sardinian plaster-grade perlite was lower than either the medium or horticultural-grade material, oxygen availability at the root surface did not limit root function. | |
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