Study on Seedling Disc Pellets Made from Rice Straw and Cow Manure

Abstract

Seedling disc made from rice straw and cow manure as a substitute for seedling disc made from coco coir as Most of the seedling disc pellets that is readily available in the market used non-biodegradable plastic mesh to hold seedling substrates. It can be an alternative medium for growing plants when there are no available pots, trays, and soil. But the coco coir pellets have some of the drawbacks when used because it caused the yellowing of plants. When deemed an agricultural waste, the coconut coir is soaked and processed to extract excess minerals. Therefore, the researchers studied to provide an alternative material to coco coir to be more environment friendly and use other raw materials for product development. The researchers made various testing to determine what optimal ratio or combination of materials would be the best for plants to grow. The produced seedling disc made from rice straw and cow manure were then compared to the existing seedling disc which is made from coco coir. The optimal ratio among the trials made found in the study was 30 grams of rice straw, 15 grams of cow manure, 5 grams of quicklime and 10 milliliters of water. The target market is plant shops, nursery plant shops and possibly members of the community that likes to grow and nourish plants in their own home whom resides at Laguna.