Evaluation of the use of synthetic red soil aggregates (SRA) and zeolite as substrate for ornamental plant production

• Published in: Journal of plant nutrition 2010-10, Vol.33 (12-14), p.2120-2134
• Main Authors: Jayasinghe, G.Y, Tokashiki, Y, Kinjo, K, Arachchi, I.D. Liyana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acid soils; acidic red soil; acidic red soils; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biological and medical sciences; bulk density; calcium; chemical constituents of plants; crop production; crop quality; Economic plant physiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; growing media; magnesium; Metabolism; Metabolism. Physicochemical requirements; nitrogen content; nursery stock; nutrient uptake; Nutrition. Photosynthesis. Respiration. Metabolism; ornamental plants; paper waste; particle size distribution; Physical properties; Physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology of agricultural and forest soils; plant growth; Plant physiology and development; porosity; potassium; quantitative analysis; soil aggregates; soil density; soil pH; soil physical properties; Soil science; Structure, texture, density, mechanical behavior. Heat and gas exchanges; synthetic aggregates; synthetic soils; Tagetes patula; waste paper; water holding capacity; zeolite; zeolites
• ISSN: 0190-4167; 1532-4087
• DOI: 10.1080/01904167.2010.519085

This research was undertaken to evaluate the influence of zeolite and synthetic aggregates (SRA) produced with acidic red soil and paper waste, on the growth of French marigold (Tagetes patula), which is a popular ornamental plant in Japan. Five different media were studied: SRA only, SRA:Zeolite 3:1, SRA:zeolite 1:1, SRA: zeolite 1:3 and zeolite only. Mixing SRA with zeolite improved the physical and chemical properties of the media such as particle size distribution, bulk density, total porosity, water holding capacity, and pH compared to zeolite. SRA and zeolite at 1:1 gave the best maximum growth parameters of French marigold. Zeolite based mixtures increased the nitrogen (N), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and calcium (Ca) concentrations in plant tissues compared to SRA medium. Addition of zeolite led to reduce K leaching from the substrate compared to SRA. SRA and Zeolite at 1:1 can be recommended as a better substrate for French marigold cultivation.