Engineered Wood Fibre Substrate
Premium Growing Media produced sustainably from New Zealand softwoods.
Sustainable. Renewable. Natural.
Key reasons to use Pinegro
NZ Pine Produced from natural, renewable New Zealand resources.
Proven Wood Fibre substrate is already successfully used overseas for many years. The latest technologies will provide assurance of a high performing substrate.
Quality Pinegro has excellent consistent physical characteristics. Pinegro Engineered Wood Fibre will contribute to growing plants to high standards.
Properties Being light, Pinegro will reduce the weight of the growing media, assisting with easier handling and movement of growing containers during production.
Features and benefits
• Raw materials are locally sourced and processed in New Zealand.
• New Zealand forestry resources provide a consistent and reproducible supply.
• No reliance on importation restraints ensures a consistent supply at a more stable cost.
• Fibrous textural characteristics provide excellent physical properties, enhancing air-filled porosity and resultant rapid well-developed root formation.
• Potential liverwort, moss and algae reduction improving hygiene and growing husbandry.
What our customers say
• Water holding and wettability properties are finely tuned with air space aiding re-wetting and water retention.
• A much lighter substrate assists with crop management and transport of plants.
• Consistent low pH and electrical conductivity ensuring an assured base level with the addition of fertiliser and liming additives.
• Production is not dependent on or affected by weather events.
“We embraced the opportunity to grow with Daltons Pinegro Wood Fibre Substrate, which offered the removal of peat from our mix and locally sourced core materials, reducing environmental impact. Since adopting the new mix, we have produced over 600,000 units, witnessing improved root growth and overall product quality across various plant types. The benefits exceeded our expectations, and the lightweight nature of the product has made handling and bulk deliveries much easier and more efficient. We highly recommend Pinegro to fellow growers.
Big thanks to the team at Daltons for the ingenuity put into this fantastic new sustainable product for our ever-evolving industry.”
Tom Wilkinson / Co. Director Robinsons NurseryTechnology
Wood chips are sourced as a by-product from the timber industry from trees grown in New Zealand which undergo a mechanical extrusion process to form a lightweight fiberised material. Fiberisation occurs when the fibres within the wood chip are teased apart by a rolling and twisting action. A mechanical heat of 140°C-160°C is achieved which is combined with high pressure through the extrusion process to produce a lightweight material which is different from the original form. Sterilisation by high temperatures creates a clean, inert fibre providing a consistent base media option for fertiliser and additive incorporation. Once processed the wood fibre provides an open, light and fluffy texture which can be used without any further treatment. It can then be used for homogeneous blending with other growing media bulk materials.
Environmentally sustainable
Pinegro Engineered Wood Fibre is sourced, processed and used in manufacturing here in New Zealand. As the wood chip is locally sourced, shipping and transportation are reduced, allowing for a lower carbon footprint as compared with materials such as peat and coir. Pinegro has been shown to not break down readily in the soil. Because of this, carbon is not released readily back into the atmosphere and contributes to what is known as the carbon sink. Being lightweight it reduces transport costs, thereby having a lower impact on the environment with less energy being consumed to transport growing media.
Crop benefits
Enhanced air filled porosity allows for better root oxygenation resulting in better root establishment and crop health. There is a good balance between air space and water holding capacity which assists with water management. Being less hydrophobic than peat, wetting up and movement of water and nutrients within the substrate is improved which helps with consistency in growth. Due to the nature of wood fibre it enables a drier regime that also contributes to reducing disease incidence. Being heat treated, there is no risk of weed seeds and the risk of disease is also reduced. Also due to the drier nature and freer draining properties of wood fibre liverwort, moss and algae which can form on top of growing containers can be minimised or eliminated in combination with good irrigation practice.
Properties Application
Pinegro is best used in conjunction with other materials to optimise its benefits. It is best blended with bark or other materials to create new, unique growing mixes with specific physical, chemical, and hydrological properties.
Volume incorporation would depend on crop type and volume of container, but <30% by volume is recommended. There are other considerations such as irrigation management, fertiliser types and rates, liming additives and nitrogen additions to address potential extra demand due to the fibre composition.
Particle Size Range* < 9mm
*Methodology: Australian Standards: AS3743-2003
Measurements are applicable to material when freshly processed. Parameters are subject to change during transport, packing, and processing with other bulk materials for growing media.