{"title":"评估有机蔬菜移栽生产中的土块法和种植介质","authors":"Anne Carey, Ajay Nair, Adam Thoms","doi":"10.21273/hortsci17566-23","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Organic vegetable growers are interested in using the “soil block” method for transplant production as an alternative to plastic flats. The soil block method compresses growing media into a freestanding block in contrast to the cells of a plastic flat. Anecdotal evidence of soil block–grown transplants with increased vigor and root development exists, but limited research has been conducted to evaluate these claims. Furthermore, identifying commercial growing medium for certified organic transplant production is needed. The objective of this study was to compare growth parameters and root development of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and pepper (Capsicum annum) transplants grown in soil blocks and plastic flats, in combination with four commercially available certified organic media (Beautiful Land Products “Soil Blocking Mix,” Purple Cow Organics “Seed Starter Mix,” Cowsmo “Green Potting Soil,” and Vermont Compost Company “Fort Vee”). A volume-based 50% peat, 25% compost, 12.5% perlite, and 12.5% vermiculite growing medium was also evaluated. A split-plot randomized complete block design with four replications was used with growing method as the whole plot factor and medium as the subplot factor. ‘Marketmore 76’ cucumbers and ‘Yankee Bell’ peppers were seeded in 50-cell flats and soil blocks made with Johnny’s Selected Seeds Stand-up 12 Soil Blocker. Data were collected on growth parameters by destructively sampling cucumbers 3 weeks after seeding, and peppers 5, 6, and 7 weeks after seeding. Root development was evaluated using WinRHIZOTM at the last sampling. Cucumber and pepper transplants performed differently in soil blocks and flats. Cucumbers grown in flats had a significantly greater dry weight than those grown in soil blocks, by 20% in 2022 and by 38% in 2023. In contrast, pepper transplants grown with the soil block method had between 50% and 130% greater dry weight in the final sampling in 2022. Cucumber and pepper transplants grown with Cowsmo “Green Potting Soil” performed poorly, with an up to 144% lower dry weight and up to 167% lower root surface area than transplants grown with the other media. Root development correlated with shoot development, without a specific advantage in soil blocks, although differences in root system architecture should be investigated. The evaluated Beautiful Land Products, Purple Cow Organics, and Vermont Compost Company media can all be considered suitable for growing certified organic vegetable transplants in both soil blocks and flats. Further research is warranted to better optimize the soil block technique, investigate optimum soil block bulk density, and inform growers of appropriate commercially available certified organic growing media for organic vegetable transplant production.","PeriodicalId":1,"journal":{"name":"Accounts of Chemical Research","volume":"12 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Evaluating the Soil Block Method and Growing Media in Organic Vegetable Transplant Production\",\"authors\":\"Anne Carey, Ajay Nair, Adam Thoms\",\"doi\":\"10.21273/hortsci17566-23\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"Organic vegetable growers are interested in using the “soil block” method for transplant production as an alternative to plastic flats. The soil block method compresses growing media into a freestanding block in contrast to the cells of a plastic flat. Anecdotal evidence of soil block–grown transplants with increased vigor and root development exists, but limited research has been conducted to evaluate these claims. Furthermore, identifying commercial growing medium for certified organic transplant production is needed. The objective of this study was to compare growth parameters and root development of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and pepper (Capsicum annum) transplants grown in soil blocks and plastic flats, in combination with four commercially available certified organic media (Beautiful Land Products “Soil Blocking Mix,” Purple Cow Organics “Seed Starter Mix,” Cowsmo “Green Potting Soil,” and Vermont Compost Company “Fort Vee”). A volume-based 50% peat, 25% compost, 12.5% perlite, and 12.5% vermiculite growing medium was also evaluated. A split-plot randomized complete block design with four replications was used with growing method as the whole plot factor and medium as the subplot factor. ‘Marketmore 76’ cucumbers and ‘Yankee Bell’ peppers were seeded in 50-cell flats and soil blocks made with Johnny’s Selected Seeds Stand-up 12 Soil Blocker. Data were collected on growth parameters by destructively sampling cucumbers 3 weeks after seeding, and peppers 5, 6, and 7 weeks after seeding. Root development was evaluated using WinRHIZOTM at the last sampling. Cucumber and pepper transplants performed differently in soil blocks and flats. Cucumbers grown in flats had a significantly greater dry weight than those grown in soil blocks, by 20% in 2022 and by 38% in 2023. In contrast, pepper transplants grown with the soil block method had between 50% and 130% greater dry weight in the final sampling in 2022. Cucumber and pepper transplants grown with Cowsmo “Green Potting Soil” performed poorly, with an up to 144% lower dry weight and up to 167% lower root surface area than transplants grown with the other media. Root development correlated with shoot development, without a specific advantage in soil blocks, although differences in root system architecture should be investigated. The evaluated Beautiful Land Products, Purple Cow Organics, and Vermont Compost Company media can all be considered suitable for growing certified organic vegetable transplants in both soil blocks and flats. Further research is warranted to better optimize the soil block technique, investigate optimum soil block bulk density, and inform growers of appropriate commercially available certified organic growing media for organic vegetable transplant production.\",\"PeriodicalId\":1,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Accounts of Chemical Research\",\"volume\":\"12 15\",\"pages\":\"\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":16.4000,\"publicationDate\":\"2024-04-01\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Accounts of Chemical Research\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"97\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.21273/hortsci17566-23\",\"RegionNum\":1,\"RegionCategory\":\"化学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Accounts of Chemical Research","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.21273/hortsci17566-23","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
Evaluating the Soil Block Method and Growing Media in Organic Vegetable Transplant Production
Organic vegetable growers are interested in using the “soil block” method for transplant production as an alternative to plastic flats. The soil block method compresses growing media into a freestanding block in contrast to the cells of a plastic flat. Anecdotal evidence of soil block–grown transplants with increased vigor and root development exists, but limited research has been conducted to evaluate these claims. Furthermore, identifying commercial growing medium for certified organic transplant production is needed. The objective of this study was to compare growth parameters and root development of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and pepper (Capsicum annum) transplants grown in soil blocks and plastic flats, in combination with four commercially available certified organic media (Beautiful Land Products “Soil Blocking Mix,” Purple Cow Organics “Seed Starter Mix,” Cowsmo “Green Potting Soil,” and Vermont Compost Company “Fort Vee”). A volume-based 50% peat, 25% compost, 12.5% perlite, and 12.5% vermiculite growing medium was also evaluated. A split-plot randomized complete block design with four replications was used with growing method as the whole plot factor and medium as the subplot factor. ‘Marketmore 76’ cucumbers and ‘Yankee Bell’ peppers were seeded in 50-cell flats and soil blocks made with Johnny’s Selected Seeds Stand-up 12 Soil Blocker. Data were collected on growth parameters by destructively sampling cucumbers 3 weeks after seeding, and peppers 5, 6, and 7 weeks after seeding. Root development was evaluated using WinRHIZOTM at the last sampling. Cucumber and pepper transplants performed differently in soil blocks and flats. Cucumbers grown in flats had a significantly greater dry weight than those grown in soil blocks, by 20% in 2022 and by 38% in 2023. In contrast, pepper transplants grown with the soil block method had between 50% and 130% greater dry weight in the final sampling in 2022. Cucumber and pepper transplants grown with Cowsmo “Green Potting Soil” performed poorly, with an up to 144% lower dry weight and up to 167% lower root surface area than transplants grown with the other media. Root development correlated with shoot development, without a specific advantage in soil blocks, although differences in root system architecture should be investigated. The evaluated Beautiful Land Products, Purple Cow Organics, and Vermont Compost Company media can all be considered suitable for growing certified organic vegetable transplants in both soil blocks and flats. Further research is warranted to better optimize the soil block technique, investigate optimum soil block bulk density, and inform growers of appropriate commercially available certified organic growing media for organic vegetable transplant production.
期刊介绍:
Accounts of Chemical Research presents short, concise and critical articles offering easy-to-read overviews of basic research and applications in all areas of chemistry and biochemistry. These short reviews focus on research from the author’s own laboratory and are designed to teach the reader about a research project. In addition, Accounts of Chemical Research publishes commentaries that give an informed opinion on a current research problem. Special Issues online are devoted to a single topic of unusual activity and significance.
Accounts of Chemical Research replaces the traditional article abstract with an article "Conspectus." These entries synopsize the research affording the reader a closer look at the content and significance of an article. Through this provision of a more detailed description of the article contents, the Conspectus enhances the article's discoverability by search engines and the exposure for the research.