Abstract:
Soilless agriculture is acknowledged worldwide because it uses organic leftovers as a means of supporting intensive and efficient plant production. However, the quality of potting media deteriorates because of lower nutrient content and excessive shrinkage of most organic materials. A current study was undertaken to identify the optimal blend of locally available organic materials with desirable qualities for use as potting media. Therefore, different ingredients, viz., Pinus roxburghii needles, sugarcane bagasse, and farmyard manure were used alone or in combination as potting media to test their suitability by growing spinach as a test crop. Results showed that an increase in Pinus roxburghii needles and sugarcane bagasse decreased medium pH and electrical conductivity. Higher pH and electrical conductivity were recorded for the treatments having a higher farmyard manure ratio (≥50%) in combination. Except for pine needles 100%, pH and electrical conductivity were in the recommended range. The growth attributes include, leaves plant-1, shoot length, fresh- and dry shoot weight along with plant macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium) and micronutrients (iron, copper, manganese, and zinc) content were higher in treatment pine needles 50%+farmyard manure 50% followed by pine needles 25%+farmyard manure 50%+sugarcane bagasse 25%. Moreover, the particular treatment of pine needles 50%+farmyard manure 50% exhibited the highest concentrations of macro- (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) as well as micronutrients (iron, copper, manganese, and zinc) in the potting media following the harvest. This study highlights the potential of utilizing agro-industrial litter/waste as a soilless growing medium for spinach production under greenhouse conditions. When employed in appropriate proportions, this approach not only addresses disposal concerns but also proves effective for sustainable cultivation. Further research is needed to investigate the use of these wastes as potting media by mixing various particle-size ingredients.
摘要:
无土农业是世界公认的,因为它使用有机剩菜作为支持集约化和高效植物生产的手段。然而,由于养分含量较低和大多数有机材料的过度收缩,灌封介质的质量下降。进行了一项当前的研究,以确定具有理想质量的本地可用有机材料的最佳混合物,以用作灌封介质。因此,不同的成分,viz.,松针,甘蔗渣,和农家肥单独或组合用作盆栽介质,以通过种植菠菜作为测试作物来测试其适用性。结果表明,刺梨和甘蔗渣的增加会降低培养基的pH值和电导率。对于具有较高的农家肥比率(≥50%)的处理,记录了较高的pH和电导率。除了松针100%,pH和电导率在推荐范围内。增长属性包括,叶plant-1,芽长度,新鲜和干重以及植物常量营养素(氮,磷,和钾)和微量营养素(铁,铜,锰,和锌)含量较高,处理松针50%农家肥50%,其次是松针25%农家肥50%甘蔗渣25%。此外,松针50%+农家肥50%的特殊处理表现出最高浓度的宏观-(氮,磷,和钾)以及微量营养素(铁,铜,锰,和锌)在收获后的盆栽介质中。这项研究强调了在温室条件下利用农业工业垃圾/废物作为菠菜生产的无土生长介质的潜力。以适当的比例使用时,这种方法不仅解决了处置问题,而且对可持续种植也是有效的。需要进一步的研究来研究通过混合各种粒径成分将这些废物用作灌封介质。