This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Uso de sustratos autóctonos en viveros de planta ornamental en contenedor

The IRTA celebrated the past 3 December in Cabrils (Barcelona) a technical day devoted to the use of substrata alternative to the peat

Use of substrata autochthonous in nurseries of ornamental plant in container

Rafaela Cáceres, Conrad Cunill and Oriol Marfà (IRTA)14/12/2012

The aim of the day, organised in the frame of the Annual Plan of technological Transfer (PATT) of the Departament d'Agriculture of the Government of Catalonia (DAAM), was to spread results of a project of investigation of transmission of the knowledge to the company whose purpose is to increase the sustainability of the nurseries of production of ornamental plant in container. The project consisted of two slopes: the adoption of technicians to improve the control of the irrigation and, on the other hand, the prospección and use of compost for his use in mixes of substrata.

In the first place it projected a video edited jointly with the Centre of Formació i Estudis Agrorurals of the DAAM in which focaliza the problematic and the opportunities that could derive of the project. The quoted project is led by the IRTA, is funded mainly by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and has the implicit support of the DAAM, the Agència of Residus of Catalonia, the Federation of Viveristas of Catalonia, two plants of production of substrata and/or organic amendments (Tervex Terres Vegetals and Plant of Compostatge of Cabrils).

At present the peat uses in proportions very elevated in the substrata of the nurseries of the province of Barcelona. Also in the nurseries of Gironinginga uses considerably but is used to complement more with the bark of pine. Since some countries already begin to impose limits to the utilisation of the peat and that in some another begins to pose the replacement of the bark of pine, is convenient to continue studying the autochthonous material use of renewable nature.

Maria Dolors Pous, of the Agència of Residus of Catalonia, presented the day describing the current situation of the production of compost and the need to increase his quality to award him a value added that the market can recognise better.

Experiment realised in Vivers The Vinya SAT (Vilassar of Sea).

Later, Rafaela Cáceres and Oriol Marfà described the properties of 18 compost that produce at present in Catalonia that, potentially, could use in mixes of substrata (or in some case, already use ). These materials group in the typologies: compost of organic fraction of municipal waste separated in origin (CFORM), compost of vegetal rests (CRV), compost of bark of pine (CESC), compost of mucks (CFEM). In general, the physical characteristics of the compost are adapted for his use like sustrato. The physical properties-chemical (pH and salinity) are more desfavorables by what his use has to restrict to a determinate percentage in the mixes. For these parameters, the results show that they exist marked differences between the different typologies. In some of them, as for example in the compost CFORM, detected a heterogeneity remarcable in his composition of macroelementos soluble.

In a back approximation to the study realised, Conrad Cunill presented the results of the experimentation with two of these materials (CFORM and CFEM) in two nurseries. The two materials used in a 20 and 40 % complemented with the sustrato that used the viverista or with CESC and compared with the sustrato that the viverista uses in each case.

The results evidenciaron the need to split of materials with physical characteristics-chemical more favourable. Especially, they detected problems of salinity in the mixes with more proportion of compost that engaged the growth of the species used. An important appearance to take into account in this application is the nutritional disequilibrium that these materials can cause in the mix. To detect it, and in general, to control the nutritional state of the crops in container, the method of the percolados caused¹ posits like a very useful tool to detect a priori deficiencies of fertility or of excess of salts. The mentioned disequilibrium no only can affect to the nutrition but it can cause loss of nutrients to the half through the leached and thus they would have to adjust the doses of irrigation or implement systems of recirculation or purification of the leached.

Another of the essays realised in Vivers gassó (Mont-roig of the Camp, Tarragona).

Likewise, it showed that it is necessary to orient, from the beginning, the composting of these materials to obtain compost of better characteristic. Of this way, could select suitable raw materials to drive the process of composting properly and obtain a product of properties more favourable. Besides, it has showed the need to have of effective and simple methods, that can implement to level of plant of production of substrata, to provide to the viveristas an useful information on these materials.

Gratitudes

Project TRACE (TRA2009_0274), project INIA (RTA2010-00112-00-00). Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

Bibliographic reference

¹Cáceres, R. Marfà, Or. 2003. Substrata And fertility in ornamental of outside. International horticulture 39:14-21.