Substrates
FLORA ECO GLUE: AN INNOVATIVE SUBSTRATE ADDITIVE FOR THE HORTICULTURE INDUSTRY
T
he German and international horticultural sector, as well as the substrate industry that supplies it with growing media for the purpose of plant production, has to deal with the problem of decreasing extraction quantities of German black peat, which will become increasingly acute in the coming years. On the one hand, the resource is finite; on the other hand, no new peat deposits will be released for extraction. In addition to the natural shortage of black peat, a significant reduction in the amount of peat used in the coming years is politically desired. This will lead to the increased use of alternative substrate materials in all areas of horticulture and more than is already the case today. Without a high percentage
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of suitable black peat in the growing medium, the durability of these machineproduced press pots is currently not assured. The average proportion of black peat is 80-90% by volume, but press pots are also often made from 100% black peat. The lower the proportion of black peat, the lower the durability of the compressed pot. Other proportions can be the less decomposed white peat, but also increasingly alternative substrate constituents such as green compost or fine wood fibres. Young plant nurseries that specialise in the production of press pots and propagation in press pots sow various types of vegetables, herbs and occasionally ornamental plants. In vegetable production, the durability of
the press pots is of decisive importance, as these are planted out with special planting machines, e.g. outdoors but also in greenhouse cultivation, after the seed has germinated and the root development is sufficiently advanced. The mechanical stress on the press pots is quite high and they must not break apart! In order to be able to provide the highly specialised seedling nurseries with growing media for the production of press pots even in the event that, due to the scarcity of black peat, there is an increase in the use of white peat and other common raw materials in horticulture, or in the event that press pots have to be produced, which meet the requirements of national and international organic associations (high
March-April 2021
