Tomasz Leszek Woznicki
Research Scientist
Abstract
Due to the economic importance of protected strawberry production and its relatively high environmental impact, more sustainable cultivation methods are needed. This study compared alternative growing media effects on plant growth and berry production. 'Sonsation' strawberries were grown in six substrates: 100% peat, 100% wood fibre, 50% peat/50% wood fibre (with and without fertilizer), and two compost and wood fiber-based products ('Nittedal' peat-free and '29 mod' peat-reduced). Irrigation treatments included standard fertigation and pure water (for 'Nittedal' and '29 mod'). In the first five weeks, the tallest (35 cm) and shortest (30 cm) plants were recorded in '29 mod' and 'Nittedal' grown on pure water, respectively. The other treatments showed consistent plant height between 33–35 cm. While peat-based media resulted in the highest yield, alternative materials performed similarly, except for a lower yield in the peat-free 'Nittedal' with pure water, with no added fertilizer. This treatment also had fewer inflorescences per plant and lower biomass production. In addition, pH and electrical conductivity measurements indicated that peat-reduced and peat-free substrates maintained optimal pH levels for strawberry growth (between 5.5-6.5). Overall, while peat-based media produced the best-performing plants, the more sustainable alternatives demonstrated comparable performance, making them viable options for strawberry cultivation.
Abstract
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Abstract
This study evaluates the effectiveness of various peat-free and peat-reduced growing media on the growth and yield of tomatoes and carrots, with the aim to develop sustainable alternatives to traditional peat-based substrates in horticulture. Thirty different growing media mixtures were tested, incorporating materials such as wood fiber, compost, biochar, bio-ash, and struvite, with the goal of identifying viable alternatives to peat. The experiments were conducted in greenhouse conditions, and the performance of these mixtures was assessed based on yield and overall vitality of tomato and carrot plants. The results revealed that fully peat-free mixtures generally underperformed compared to peat-based references. However, some peat-reduced mixtures with 30% peat in combination with wood fiber, compost, struvite or bio-ash demonstrated promising results. Bio-ash and struvite were evaluated as phosphorus sources, with findings suggesting that both materials can enhance substrate fertility when combined with appropriate nitrogen fertilizers. The effect of biochar was not very pronounced in general. Moreover, the addition of biochar was associated with a disappearance of plant-available nitrogen from the growing media, which likely contributed to its limited effectiveness in improving crop performance. The study underscores the continual challenge of completely phasing out peat in growing media for horticulture but highlights the potential of reducing it greatly and integrating more sustainable materials such as wood fiber and recycled materials such as compost, bio-ash and struvite. The results suggest that with further refinement, specific combinations of these materials could be developed into optimized substrate mixtures for sustainable horticultural practices without compromising productivity.