"System makes it easier to find required nutrient supply schedule"

Ongoing research at commercial nurseries with Phalaenopsis and pot Anthurium is used to check a new electronic version of the former tables of the Nutrient Recommendation System for container plants. The electronic System makes it easier to find the required nutrient supply schedule based on potting soil analyses.

The System also makes it easier to incorporate new knowledge about nutrient dynamics. In the cultivation of container plants it is not always easy to find accurate measurements. Drain flows can be much larger than the plant uptake and the frequency of irrigation may be lower than once a day. Therefore deviations in the measurements may affect the outcomes. On line measurements of water content and plant weight continuously register changes in the root environment and allow an estimation of the supply and drain flows to the plant. Such estimates then allow more accurate dosing of water and more accurate dosing of nutrients.

This research is a sequel to research on the Nutrient Recommendation System for fruit vegetables and cut flowers and was initiated by the Club of 100. To discuss further improvements in measuring water flows on container plant nurseries, researchers are still looking for some interested growers.

Funding: Club of 100 and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.

Source: www.wur.nl