Soilless Culture: Theory and Practice,
Edition 1
Edited by Michael Raviv#error#Michael Raviv, Michael Raviv#error#Michael Raviv and J. Heinrich Lieth
Publication Date:
27 Dec 2007
Description
Plant production in hydroponics and soilless culture is rapidly expanding throughout the world, raising a great interest in the scientific community. For the first time in an authoritative reference book, authors cover both theoretical and practical aspects of hydroponics (growing plants without the use of soil). This reference book covers the state-of-the-art in this area, while offering a clear view of supplying plants with nutrients other than soil. Soilless Culture provides the reader with an understanding of the properties of the various soiless media and how these properties affect plant performance in relation to basic horticultural operations, such as irrigation and fertilization. This book is ideal for agronomists, horticulturalists, greenhouse and nursery managers, extension specialists, and people involved with the production of plants.
Key Features
* Comprehensive discussion of hydroponic systems, irrigation, and control measures allows readers to achieve optimal performance* State-of-the-art book on all theoretical aspects of hydroponics and soilless culture including a thorough description of the root system, its functions and limitation posed by restricted root volume* Critical and updated reviews of current analytical methods and how to translate their results to irrigation and fertilization practices * Definitive chapters on recycled, no-discharge systems including salinity and nutrition management and pathogen eradication * Up-to-date description of all important types of growing media
About the author
Edited by Michael Raviv, Newe Ya'ar Research Center, ARO, Department of Environmental Horticulture, Israel#error#Michael Raviv, Newe Ya'ar Research Center, ARO, Department of Environmental Horticulture, Israel; Michael Raviv, Newe Ya'ar Research Center, ARO, Department of Environmental Horticulture, Israel#error#Michael Raviv, Newe Ya'ar Research Center, ARO, Department of Environmental Horticulture, Israel and J. Heinrich Lieth, Department of Plant Sciences,
University of California - Davis, U.S.A.
Table of Contents
List of Contributors
Preface
1 Significance of Soilless Culture in Agriculture
1.1 Historical Facets of Soilless Production
1.2 Hydroponics
1.3 Soilless Production Agriculture
References
2 Functions of the Root System
2.1 The Functions of the Root System
2.2 Depth of Root Penetration
2.3 Water Uptake
2.4 Response of Root Growth to Local Nutrient Concentrations
2.4.1 Nutrient Uptake
2.4.2 Root Elongation and P Uptake
2.4.3 Influence of N Form and Concentration
2.5 Interactions Between Environmental Conditions and Form of N Nutrition
2.5.1 Temperature and Root Growth
2.5.2 Role of Ca in Root Elongation
2.5.3 Light Intensity
2.5.4 pH
2.5.5 Urea
2.5.6 Mycorrhiza–Root Association
2.6 Roots as Source and Sink for Organic Compounds and Plant Hormones
2.6.1 Hormone Activity
References
Further Readings
3 Physical Characteristics of Soilless Media
3.1 Physical Properties of Soilless Media
3.1.1 Bulk Density
3.1.2 Particle Size Distribution
3.1.3 Porosity
3.1.4 Pore Distribution
3.2 Water Content and Water Potential in Soilless Media
3.2.1 Water Content
3.2.2 Capillarity, Water Potential and its Components
3.2.3 Water Retention Curve and Hysteresis
3.3 Water Movement in Soilless Media
3.3.1 Flow in Saturated Media
3.3.2 Flow in an Unsaturated Media
3.3.3 Richards Equation, Boundary and Initial Conditions
3.3.4 Wetting and Redistribution of Water in Soilless Media – Container Capacity
3.4 Uptake of Water by Plants in Soilless Media and Water Availability
3.4.1 Root Water Uptake
3.4.2 Modeling Root Water Uptake
3.4.3 Determining Momentary and Daily Water Uptake Rate
3.4.4 Roots Uptake Distribution Within Growing Containers
3.4.5 Water Availability vs. Atmospheric Demand
3.5 Solute Transport in Soilless Media
3.5.1 Transport Mechanisms – Diffusion, Dispersion, Convection
3.5.2 Convection–Dispersion Equation
3.5.3 Adsorption – Linear and Non-linear
3.5.4 Non-equilibrium Transport – Physical and Chemical Non-equilibria
3.5.5 Modeling Root Nutrient Uptake – Single-root and Root-system
3.6 Gas Transport in Soilless Media
3.6.1 General Concepts
3.6.2 Mechanisms of Gas Transport
3.6.3 Modeling Gas Transport in Soilless Media
References
4 Irrigation in Soilless Production
4.1 Introduction
4.1.1 Water Movement in Plants
4.1.2 Water Potential
4.1.3 The Root Zone
4.1.4 Water Quality
4.2 Root Zone Moisture Dynamics
4.2.1 During an Irrigation Event
4.2.2 Between Irrigation Events
4.2.3 Prior to an Irrigation Event
4.3 Irrigation Objectives and Design Characteristics
4.3.1 Capacity
4.3.2 Uniformity
4.4 Irrigation Delivery Systems
4.4.1 Overhead Systems
4.4.2 Surface Systems
4.4.3 Subsurface
4.5 Irrigation System Control Methods
4.5.1 Occasional Irrigation
4.5.2 Pulse Irrigation
4.5.3 High Frequency Irrigation
4.5.4 Continuous Irrigation
4.6 Irrigation Decisions
4.6.1 Irrigation Frequency
4.6.2 Duration of Irrigation Event
4.7 Approaches to Making Irrigation Decisions
4.7.1 ‘Look and Feel’ Method
4.7.2 Gravimetric Method
4.7.3 Time-based Method
4.7.4 Sensor-based Methods
4.7.5 Model-based Irrigation
4.8 Future Research Directions
References
5 Technical Equipment in Soilless Production Systems
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Water and Irrigation
5.2.1 Water Supply
5.2.2 Irrigation Approaches
5.2.3 Fertigation Hardware
5.3 Production Systems
5.3.1 Systems on the Ground
5.3.2 Above-ground Production Systems
5.4 Examples of Specific Soilless Crop Production Systems
5.4.1 Fruiting Vegetables
5.4.2 Single-harvest Leaf Vegetables
5.4.3 Single-harvest Sown Vegetables
5.4.4 Other Speciality Crops
5.4.5 Cut Flowers
5.4.6 Potted Plants
5.5 Discussion and Conclusion
References
6 Chemical Characteristics of Soilless Media
6.1 Charge Characteristics
6.1.1 Adsorption of Nutritional Elements to Exchange Sites
6.2 Specific Adsorption and Interactions Between Cations/Anions and Substrate Solids
6.2.1 Phosphorus
6.2.2 Zinc
6.2.3 Effects of P and Zn Addition on Solution Si Concentration
6.3 Plant-induced Changes in the Rhizosphere
6.3.1 Effects on Chemical Properties of Surfaces of Substrate Solids
6.3.2 Effects on Nutrients Availability
6.3.3 Assessing the Impact of Plants: The Effect of Citric Acid Addition on P Availability
6.4 Nutrient Release from Inorganic and Organic Substrates
References
7 Analytical Methods Used in Soilless Cultivation
7.1 Introduction
7.1.1 Why to Analyze Growing Media?
7.1.2 Variation
7.1.3 Interrelationships
7.2 Physical Analysis
7.2.1 Sample Preparation (Bulk Sampling and Sub-sampling)
7.2.2 Bulk Sampling Preformed Materials
7.2.3 Bulk Sampling Loose Material
7.2.4 Sub-sampling Pre-formed materials
7.2.5 Sub-sampling Loose Materials
7.3 Methods
7.3.1 Bulk Density
7.3.2 Porosity
7.3.3 Particle Size
7.3.4 Water Retention and Air Content
7.3.5 Rewetting
7.3.6 Rehydration Rate
7.3.7 Hydrophobicity (or Water Repellency)
7.3.8 Shrinkage
7.3.9 Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity
7.3.10 Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity
7.3.11 Oxygen Diffusion
7.3.12 Penetrability
7.3.13 Hardness, Stickiness
7.4 Chemical Analysis
7.4.1 Water-soluble Elements
7.4.2 Exchangeable, Semi- and Non-water Soluble Elements
7.4.3 The pH in Loose Media
7.4.4 Nitrogen Immobilization
7.4.5 Calcium Carbonate Content
7.5 Biological Analysis
7.5.1 Stability (and Rate of Biodegradation)
7.5.2 Potential Biodegradability
7.5.3 Heat Evolution (Dewar Test)
7.5.4 Solvita Test™
7.5.5 Respiration Rate by CO2 Production
7.5.6 Respiration Rate by O2 Consumption (The Potential Standard Method)
7.5.7 Weed Test
7.5.8 Growth Test
References
8 Nutrition of Substrate-grown Plants
8.1 General
8.2 Nutrient Requirements of Substrate-grown Plants
8.2.1 General
8.2.2 Consumption Curves of Crops
8.3 Impact of N Source
8.3.1 Modification of the Rhizosphere pH and Improvement of Nutrient Availability
8.3.2 Cation-anion Balance in Plant and Growth Disorders Induced by NH4+ Toxicity
8.4 Integrated Effect of Irrigation Frequency and Nutrients Level
8.4.1 Nutrient Availability and Uptake by Plants
8.4.2 Direct and Indirect Outcomes of Irrigation Frequency on Plant Growth
8.5 Salinity Effect on Crop Production
8.5.1 General
8.5.2 Salinity-nutrients Relationships
8.5.3 Yield Quality Induced by Salinity-nutrients8.6 Composition of Nutrient Solution
8.6.1 pH Manipulation
8.6.2 Salinity Control
References
9 Fertigation Management and Crops Response to Solution Recycling in Semi-closed Greenhouses
9.1 System Description
9.1.1 Essential Components
9.1.2 Processes and System Variables and Parameters
9.1.3 Substrate Considerations
9.1.4 Monitoring
9.1.5 Control
9.2 Management
9.2.1 Inorganic Ion Accumulation
9.2.2 Organic Carbon Accumulation
9.2.3 Microflora Accumulation
9.2.4 Discharge Strategies
9.2.5 Substrate and Solution Volume Per Plant
9.2.6 Effect of Substrate Type
9.2.7 Water and Nutrients Replenishment
9.2.8 Water Quality Aspects
9.2.9 Fertigation Frequency
9.2.10 pH Control: Nitrification and Protons and Carboxylates Excretion by Roots
9.2.11 Root Zone Temperature
9.2.12 Interrelationship Between Climate and Solution Recycling
9.2.13 Effect of N Sources and Concentration on Root Disease Incidence
9.3 Specific Crops Response to Recirculation
9.3.1 Vegetable Crops
9.3.2 Ornamental Crops
9.4 Modeling the Crop-Recirculation System
9.4.1 Review of Existing Models
9.4.2 Examples of Closed-loop Irrigation System Simulations
9.5 Outlook: Model-based Decision-support Tools for Semi-Closed Systems
Acknowledgment
Appendix
References
10 Pathogen Detection and Management Strategies in Soilless Plant Growing Systems
10.1 Introduction
10.1.1 Interaction Between Growing Systems and Plant Pathogens
10.1.2 Disease-Management Strategies
10.1.3 Overview of the Chapter
10.2 Detection of Pathogens
10.2.1 Disease Potential in Closed Systems
10.2.2 Biological and Detection Thresholds
10.2.3 Method Requirements for Detection and Monitoring
10.2.4 Detection Techniques
10.2.5 Possibilities and Drawbacks of Molecular Detection Methods for Practical Application
10.2.6 Future Developments
10.3 Microbial Balance
10.3.1 Microbiological Vacuum
10.3.2 Microbial Populations in Closed Soilless Systems
10.3.3 Plant as Driving Factor of the Microflora
10.3.4 Biological Control Agents
10.3.5 Disease-suppressive Substrate
10.3.6 Conclusions
10.4 Disinfestation of the Nutrient Solution
10.4.1 Recirculation of Drainage Water
10.4.2 Volume to be Disinfected
10.4.3 Filtration
10.4.4 Heat Treatment
10.4.5 Oxidation
10.4.6 Electromagnetic Radiation
10.4.7 Active Carbon Adsorption
10.4.8 Copper Ionization
10.4.9 Conclusions
10.5 Synthesis: Combined Strategies
10.5.1 Combining Strategies
10.5.2 Combining Biological Control Agents and Disinfestation
10.5.3 Non-pathogenic Microflora After Disinfestation
10.5.4 Addition of Beneficial Microbes to Sand Filters
10.5.5 Detection of Pathogenic and Beneficial Micro-organisms
10.5.6 Future
Acknowledgments
References
11 Organic Soilless Media Components
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Peat
11.2.1 Chemical Properties
11.2.2 Physical Properties
11.2.3 Nutrition in Peat
11.3 Coir
11.3.1 Production of Coir
11.3.2 Chemical Properties
11.3.3 Physical Properties
11.3.4 Plant Growth in Coir
11.4 Wood Fiber
11.4.1 Production of Wood Fiber
11.4.2 Chemical Properties
11.4.3 Physical Properties
11.4.4 Nitrogen Immobilization
11.4.5 Crop Production in Wood Fiber
11.4.6 The Composting Process
11.5 Bark
11.5.1 Chemical Properties
11.5.2 Nitrogen Immobilization
11.5.3 Physical Properties
11.5.4 Plant Growth
11.6 Sawdust
11.7 Composted Plant Waste
11.8 Other Materials
11.9 Stability of Growing Media
11.9.1 Physical and Biological Stability
11.9.2 Pathogen Survival in Compost
11.10 Disease Suppression by Organic Growing Media
11.10.1 The Phenomenon and its Description
11.10.2 Suggested Mechanisms for Suppressiveness of Compost Against Root Diseases
11.10.3 Horticultural Considerations of Use of Compost as Soilless Substrate
References
12 Inorganic and Synthetic Organic Components of Soilless Culture and Potting Mixes
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Most Commonly Used Inorganic Substrates in Soilless Culture
12.2.1 Natural Unmodified Materials
12.2.2 Processed Materials
12.2.3 Mineral Wool
12.3 Most Commonly Used Synthetic Organic Media in Soilless Culture
12.3.1 Polyurethane
12.3.2 Polystyrene
12.3.3 Polyester Fleece
12.4 Substrates Mixtures — Theory and Practice
12.4.1 Substrate Mixtures — Physical Properties
12.4.2 Substrate Mixtures — Chemical Properties
12.4.3 Substrate Mixtures — Practice
12.5 Concluding Remarks
Acknowledgments
References
13 Growing Plants in Soilless Culture: Operational Conclusions
13.1 Evolution of Soilless Production Systems
13.1.1 Major Limitation of Soilless - vs. Soil-growing Plants
13.1.2 The Effects of Restricted Root Volume on Crop Performance and Management
13.1.3 The Effects of Restricted Root Volume on Plant Nutrition
13.1.4 Root Confinement by Rigid Barriers and Other Contributing Factors
13.1.5 Root Exposure to Ambient Conditions
13.1.6 Root Zone Uniformity
13.2 Development and Change of Soilless Production Systems
13.2.1 How New Substrates and Growing Systems Emerge (and Disappear)
13.2.2 Environmental Restrictions and the Use of Closed Systems
13.2.3 Soilless ‘Organic’ Production Systems
13.2.4 Tailoring Plants for Soilless Culture: A Challenge for Plant Breeders
13.2.5 Choosing the Appropriate Medium, Root Volume and Growing System
13.3 Management of Soilless Production Systems
13.3.1 Interrelationships Among Various Operational Parameters
13.3.2 Dynamic Nature of the Soilless Root Zone
13.3.3 Sensing and Controlling Root-zone Major Parameters: Present and Future
References
Index of Organism Names
Subject Index
List of Contributors
Preface
1 Significance of Soilless Culture in Agriculture
1.1 Historical Facets of Soilless Production
1.2 Hydroponics
1.3 Soilless Production Agriculture
References
2 Functions of the Root System
2.1 The Functions of the Root System
2.2 Depth of Root Penetration
2.3 Water Uptake
2.4 Response of Root Growth to Local Nutrient Concentrations
2.4.1 Nutrient Uptake
2.4.2 Root Elongation and P Uptake
2.4.3 Influence of N Form and Concentration
2.5 Interactions Between Environmental Conditions and Form of N Nutrition
2.5.1 Temperature and Root Growth
2.5.2 Role of Ca in Root Elongation
2.5.3 Light Intensity
2.5.4 pH
2.5.5 Urea
2.5.6 Mycorrhiza–Root Association
2.6 Roots as Source and Sink for Organic Compounds and Plant Hormones
2.6.1 Hormone Activity
References
Further Readings
3 Physical Characteristics of Soilless Media
3.1 Physical Properties of Soilless Media
3.1.1 Bulk Density
3.1.2 Particle Size Distribution
3.1.3 Porosity
3.1.4 Pore Distribution
3.2 Water Content and Water Potential in Soilless Media
3.2.1 Water Content
3.2.2 Capillarity, Water Potential and its Components
3.2.3 Water Retention Curve and Hysteresis
3.3 Water Movement in Soilless Media
3.3.1 Flow in Saturated Media
3.3.2 Flow in an Unsaturated Media
3.3.3 Richards Equation, Boundary and Initial Conditions
3.3.4 Wetting and Redistribution of Water in Soilless Media – Container Capacity
3.4 Uptake of Water by Plants in Soilless Media and Water Availability
3.4.1 Root Water Uptake
3.4.2 Modeling Root Water Uptake
3.4.3 Determining Momentary and Daily Water Uptake Rate
3.4.4 Roots Uptake Distribution Within Growing Containers
3.4.5 Water Availability vs. Atmospheric Demand
3.5 Solute Transport in Soilless Media
3.5.1 Transport Mechanisms – Diffusion, Dispersion, Convection
3.5.2 Convection–Dispersion Equation
3.5.3 Adsorption – Linear and Non-linear
3.5.4 Non-equilibrium Transport – Physical and Chemical Non-equilibria
3.5.5 Modeling Root Nutrient Uptake – Single-root and Root-system
3.6 Gas Transport in Soilless Media
3.6.1 General Concepts
3.6.2 Mechanisms of Gas Transport
3.6.3 Modeling Gas Transport in Soilless Media
References
4 Irrigation in Soilless Production
4.1 Introduction
4.1.1 Water Movement in Plants
4.1.2 Water Potential
4.1.3 The Root Zone
4.1.4 Water Quality
4.2 Root Zone Moisture Dynamics
4.2.1 During an Irrigation Event
4.2.2 Between Irrigation Events
4.2.3 Prior to an Irrigation Event
4.3 Irrigation Objectives and Design Characteristics
4.3.1 Capacity
4.3.2 Uniformity
4.4 Irrigation Delivery Systems
4.4.1 Overhead Systems
4.4.2 Surface Systems
4.4.3 Subsurface
4.5 Irrigation System Control Methods
4.5.1 Occasional Irrigation
4.5.2 Pulse Irrigation
4.5.3 High Frequency Irrigation
4.5.4 Continuous Irrigation
4.6 Irrigation Decisions
4.6.1 Irrigation Frequency
4.6.2 Duration of Irrigation Event
4.7 Approaches to Making Irrigation Decisions
4.7.1 ‘Look and Feel’ Method
4.7.2 Gravimetric Method
4.7.3 Time-based Method
4.7.4 Sensor-based Methods
4.7.5 Model-based Irrigation
4.8 Future Research Directions
References
5 Technical Equipment in Soilless Production Systems
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Water and Irrigation
5.2.1 Water Supply
5.2.2 Irrigation Approaches
5.2.3 Fertigation Hardware
5.3 Production Systems
5.3.1 Systems on the Ground
5.3.2 Above-ground Production Systems
5.4 Examples of Specific Soilless Crop Production Systems
5.4.1 Fruiting Vegetables
5.4.2 Single-harvest Leaf Vegetables
5.4.3 Single-harvest Sown Vegetables
5.4.4 Other Speciality Crops
5.4.5 Cut Flowers
5.4.6 Potted Plants
5.5 Discussion and Conclusion
References
6 Chemical Characteristics of Soilless Media
6.1 Charge Characteristics
6.1.1 Adsorption of Nutritional Elements to Exchange Sites
6.2 Specific Adsorption and Interactions Between Cations/Anions and Substrate Solids
6.2.1 Phosphorus
6.2.2 Zinc
6.2.3 Effects of P and Zn Addition on Solution Si Concentration
6.3 Plant-induced Changes in the Rhizosphere
6.3.1 Effects on Chemical Properties of Surfaces of Substrate Solids
6.3.2 Effects on Nutrients Availability
6.3.3 Assessing the Impact of Plants: The Effect of Citric Acid Addition on P Availability
6.4 Nutrient Release from Inorganic and Organic Substrates
References
7 Analytical Methods Used in Soilless Cultivation
7.1 Introduction
7.1.1 Why to Analyze Growing Media?
7.1.2 Variation
7.1.3 Interrelationships
7.2 Physical Analysis
7.2.1 Sample Preparation (Bulk Sampling and Sub-sampling)
7.2.2 Bulk Sampling Preformed Materials
7.2.3 Bulk Sampling Loose Material
7.2.4 Sub-sampling Pre-formed materials
7.2.5 Sub-sampling Loose Materials
7.3 Methods
7.3.1 Bulk Density
7.3.2 Porosity
7.3.3 Particle Size
7.3.4 Water Retention and Air Content
7.3.5 Rewetting
7.3.6 Rehydration Rate
7.3.7 Hydrophobicity (or Water Repellency)
7.3.8 Shrinkage
7.3.9 Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity
7.3.10 Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity
7.3.11 Oxygen Diffusion
7.3.12 Penetrability
7.3.13 Hardness, Stickiness
7.4 Chemical Analysis
7.4.1 Water-soluble Elements
7.4.2 Exchangeable, Semi- and Non-water Soluble Elements
7.4.3 The pH in Loose Media
7.4.4 Nitrogen Immobilization
7.4.5 Calcium Carbonate Content
7.5 Biological Analysis
7.5.1 Stability (and Rate of Biodegradation)
7.5.2 Potential Biodegradability
7.5.3 Heat Evolution (Dewar Test)
7.5.4 Solvita Test™
7.5.5 Respiration Rate by CO2 Production
7.5.6 Respiration Rate by O2 Consumption (The Potential Standard Method)
7.5.7 Weed Test
7.5.8 Growth Test
References
8 Nutrition of Substrate-grown Plants
8.1 General
8.2 Nutrient Requirements of Substrate-grown Plants
8.2.1 General
8.2.2 Consumption Curves of Crops
8.3 Impact of N Source
8.3.1 Modification of the Rhizosphere pH and Improvement of Nutrient Availability
8.3.2 Cation-anion Balance in Plant and Growth Disorders Induced by NH4+ Toxicity
8.4 Integrated Effect of Irrigation Frequency and Nutrients Level
8.4.1 Nutrient Availability and Uptake by Plants
8.4.2 Direct and Indirect Outcomes of Irrigation Frequency on Plant Growth
8.5 Salinity Effect on Crop Production
8.5.1 General
8.5.2 Salinity-nutrients Relationships
8.5.3 Yield Quality Induced by Salinity-nutrients8.6 Composition of Nutrient Solution
8.6.1 pH Manipulation
8.6.2 Salinity Control
References
9 Fertigation Management and Crops Response to Solution Recycling in Semi-closed Greenhouses
9.1 System Description
9.1.1 Essential Components
9.1.2 Processes and System Variables and Parameters
9.1.3 Substrate Considerations
9.1.4 Monitoring
9.1.5 Control
9.2 Management
9.2.1 Inorganic Ion Accumulation
9.2.2 Organic Carbon Accumulation
9.2.3 Microflora Accumulation
9.2.4 Discharge Strategies
9.2.5 Substrate and Solution Volume Per Plant
9.2.6 Effect of Substrate Type
9.2.7 Water and Nutrients Replenishment
9.2.8 Water Quality Aspects
9.2.9 Fertigation Frequency
9.2.10 pH Control: Nitrification and Protons and Carboxylates Excretion by Roots
9.2.11 Root Zone Temperature
9.2.12 Interrelationship Between Climate and Solution Recycling
9.2.13 Effect of N Sources and Concentration on Root Disease Incidence
9.3 Specific Crops Response to Recirculation
9.3.1 Vegetable Crops
9.3.2 Ornamental Crops
9.4 Modeling the Crop-Recirculation System
9.4.1 Review of Existing Models
9.4.2 Examples of Closed-loop Irrigation System Simulations
9.5 Outlook: Model-based Decision-support Tools for Semi-Closed Systems
Acknowledgment
Appendix
References
10 Pathogen Detection and Management Strategies in Soilless Plant Growing Systems
10.1 Introduction
10.1.1 Interaction Between Growing Systems and Plant Pathogens
10.1.2 Disease-Management Strategies
10.1.3 Overview of the Chapter
10.2 Detection of Pathogens
10.2.1 Disease Potential in Closed Systems
10.2.2 Biological and Detection Thresholds
10.2.3 Method Requirements for Detection and Monitoring
10.2.4 Detection Techniques
10.2.5 Possibilities and Drawbacks of Molecular Detection Methods for Practical Application
10.2.6 Future Developments
10.3 Microbial Balance
10.3.1 Microbiological Vacuum
10.3.2 Microbial Populations in Closed Soilless Systems
10.3.3 Plant as Driving Factor of the Microflora
10.3.4 Biological Control Agents
10.3.5 Disease-suppressive Substrate
10.3.6 Conclusions
10.4 Disinfestation of the Nutrient Solution
10.4.1 Recirculation of Drainage Water
10.4.2 Volume to be Disinfected
10.4.3 Filtration
10.4.4 Heat Treatment
10.4.5 Oxidation
10.4.6 Electromagnetic Radiation
10.4.7 Active Carbon Adsorption
10.4.8 Copper Ionization
10.4.9 Conclusions
10.5 Synthesis: Combined Strategies
10.5.1 Combining Strategies
10.5.2 Combining Biological Control Agents and Disinfestation
10.5.3 Non-pathogenic Microflora After Disinfestation
10.5.4 Addition of Beneficial Microbes to Sand Filters
10.5.5 Detection of Pathogenic and Beneficial Micro-organisms
10.5.6 Future
Acknowledgments
References
11 Organic Soilless Media Components
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Peat
11.2.1 Chemical Properties
11.2.2 Physical Properties
11.2.3 Nutrition in Peat
11.3 Coir
11.3.1 Production of Coir
11.3.2 Chemical Properties
11.3.3 Physical Properties
11.3.4 Plant Growth in Coir
11.4 Wood Fiber
11.4.1 Production of Wood Fiber
11.4.2 Chemical Properties
11.4.3 Physical Properties
11.4.4 Nitrogen Immobilization
11.4.5 Crop Production in Wood Fiber
11.4.6 The Composting Process
11.5 Bark
11.5.1 Chemical Properties
11.5.2 Nitrogen Immobilization
11.5.3 Physical Properties
11.5.4 Plant Growth
11.6 Sawdust
11.7 Composted Plant Waste
11.8 Other Materials
11.9 Stability of Growing Media
11.9.1 Physical and Biological Stability
11.9.2 Pathogen Survival in Compost
11.10 Disease Suppression by Organic Growing Media
11.10.1 The Phenomenon and its Description
11.10.2 Suggested Mechanisms for Suppressiveness of Compost Against Root Diseases
11.10.3 Horticultural Considerations of Use of Compost as Soilless Substrate
References
12 Inorganic and Synthetic Organic Components of Soilless Culture and Potting Mixes
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Most Commonly Used Inorganic Substrates in Soilless Culture
12.2.1 Natural Unmodified Materials
12.2.2 Processed Materials
12.2.3 Mineral Wool
12.3 Most Commonly Used Synthetic Organic Media in Soilless Culture
12.3.1 Polyurethane
12.3.2 Polystyrene
12.3.3 Polyester Fleece
12.4 Substrates Mixtures — Theory and Practice
12.4.1 Substrate Mixtures — Physical Properties
12.4.2 Substrate Mixtures — Chemical Properties
12.4.3 Substrate Mixtures — Practice
12.5 Concluding Remarks
Acknowledgments
References
13 Growing Plants in Soilless Culture: Operational Conclusions
13.1 Evolution of Soilless Production Systems
13.1.1 Major Limitation of Soilless - vs. Soil-growing Plants
13.1.2 The Effects of Restricted Root Volume on Crop Performance and Management
13.1.3 The Effects of Restricted Root Volume on Plant Nutrition
13.1.4 Root Confinement by Rigid Barriers and Other Contributing Factors
13.1.5 Root Exposure to Ambient Conditions
13.1.6 Root Zone Uniformity
13.2 Development and Change of Soilless Production Systems
13.2.1 How New Substrates and Growing Systems Emerge (and Disappear)
13.2.2 Environmental Restrictions and the Use of Closed Systems
13.2.3 Soilless ‘Organic’ Production Systems
13.2.4 Tailoring Plants for Soilless Culture: A Challenge for Plant Breeders
13.2.5 Choosing the Appropriate Medium, Root Volume and Growing System
13.3 Management of Soilless Production Systems
13.3.1 Interrelationships Among Various Operational Parameters
13.3.2 Dynamic Nature of the Soilless Root Zone
13.3.3 Sensing and Controlling Root-zone Major Parameters: Present and Future
References
Index of Organism Names
Subject Index
Book details
ISBN:
9780444529756
Page Count: 608
Retail Price
:
£95.00
Coleman et al: Fundamentals of Soil Ecology, 2e (Jul 2004, ISBN-10/13: 0-12-179726-0/ 978-0-12-179726-3)
Lagacherie et al: Digital Soil Mapping (Dec 2006, ISBN-10/13: 0-444-52958-6/ 978-0-444-52958-9)
Zimdahl: Agriculture's Ethical Horizon (Feb 2006, ISBN-10/13: 0-12-370511-8/ 978-0-12-370511-2)
Lagacherie et al: Digital Soil Mapping (Dec 2006, ISBN-10/13: 0-444-52958-6/ 978-0-444-52958-9)
Zimdahl: Agriculture's Ethical Horizon (Feb 2006, ISBN-10/13: 0-12-370511-8/ 978-0-12-370511-2)
Audience
Agronomists, horticulturalists, farmers, practitioners confronting problems
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