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Abstract
Palabora vermiculite having a pH of 9.8 was studied in order to (a) assess the extent of influence the alkaline reaction has upon several crops, and (b) to investigate further, means of correcting the problem where it exists. Four marigold, 3 zinnia, and 1 chrysanthemum cultivars were found to develop normally in this medium without adjustment of pH but the chrysanthemum cultivar ‘Giant Betsy Ross’, which is susceptible to alkaline reaction-induced micronutrient deficiencies, developed symptoms of Fe deficiency. Correction of this problem was accomplished in 2 ways: (a) by incorporation of sphagnum peat moss into the medium, and (b) by a drench with H3PO4 at the rate of 40 meq/100 g dry vermiculite.
Abstract
A series of experiments was conducted with chrysanthemum cv. Giant Betsy Ross grown in acid-washed quartz sand. The nutrient solution was buffered at pH 7.8 to induce Cu deficiency while Fe, Mn and Zn were supplied in high quantities to avoid simultaneous deficiencies. Nutrient levels in the tissues were monitered by atomic absorption analyses.
The critical range of Cu was established at 6.7 to 7.4 ppm for the first fully expanded leaves of the plant. The deficiency first appeared on the terminal leaves as chlorosis most intensely developed at the leaf blade base. As the leaf became more chlorotic the margin, and particularly the lobes toward the leaf apex, retained a normal green color. Tissues over and adjacent to the vascular tissue did not become as chlorotic as the leaf lamella giving rise to the second symptom which was interveinal chlorosis. At that stage the green pigmentation associated with the vascular tissue occurred in a broader pattern than in Fe deficiency. In the third stage of deficiency veinal chlorosis appeared, followed by necrosis of leaves located immediately below the first fully expanded leaf. There was a concomitant regreening of foliage at the terminal end of the shoot which lasted for a short time. In the final stage the shoot apex died.
Tahitian bridal veil traditionally has been assigned the scientific name of Tradescentia multiflora (or Tradescentia multifoila in the floricultural industry. Hortus Third lacks the name Tahitian bridal veil. Other references also lack this vernacular name or assign this plant either to Tripogandra or Gibasis as G. geniculata or G. pellucida. Thus, modern literature references suggest three potential scientific names. Plants of Tahitian bridal veil were examined morphologically. A description was prepared and compared to literature descriptions of the taxa involved. Results indicated that Tahitian bridal veil was misidentified at least twice by earlier authors and that the correct name for Tahitian bridal veil is G. pellucida.
Salinity guidelines for seed germination substrates are extremely low and difficult to attain given the salinity contributions of components such as peatmoss, vermiculite, limestone, wetting agent, and nutrients. This study was conducted to determine the value of N, P, K, and S as pre-plant nutrients with the anticipation that some could be eliminated. Seed were sown in two similar experiments on 23 Mar. and 6 June 1995 in 288-cell plug trays containing a substrate of 3 sphagnum peat: 1 perlite (v/v) amended with 6 g dolomitic limestone and 1.5 g Esmigran micronutrient mix per liter. Test plants included impatiens `Accent Rose' (Impatiens wallerana L.) and gomphrena `Buddy' (Gomphrena globosa. L.) Six preplant treatments including none, all, or all minus one of the nutrients N, P, K, and S were applied, each at a rate of 100 mg·L–1, substrate, in a randomized complete-block design with three blocks. Post-plant fertilization with 13–0.9–10.8 at 50 mg N/L began 1 week after sowing and was increased to 100 mg N/L when the fourth true leaf appeared. Omission of pre-plant K and S did not result in any reduction in final plant size in impatiens and only a minor reduction in one of the two gomphrena crops. Omission of N and P consistently reduced final size of plants by a commercially significant amount. While K and S are not necessary, N and P should be considered in a pre-plant fertilizer for these crops. In each situation where shoot size was smaller the root/shoot ratio was unchanged.
It is a common practice in greenhouses to apply fertilizers with a high proportion of N in the NO3 form to achieve short, compact shoots and a moderate (25% or greater) proportion of NH4 or urea for large shoots. However, this practice is not substantiated in the scientific literature. Two experiments were conducted in a greenhouse to assess effects of N form on development. In the first, Petunia hybrida `Mid-night Dreams' was treated with five ratios of NH4:NO3 or urea:NO3 in a factorial arrangement with three concentrations of N (50-low, 100-adequate, and 200-high mg/L at each irrigation). In the second experiment six species of bedding plants were treated in a factorial arrangement of five ratios of NH4:NO3 and two pH levels (acceptably low, 5.4-5.8, and unacceptably low, 4.6-5.2). In all comparisons, height and dry weight of shoots grown with 100% NO3 were equal or larger than the plants grown with combinations of N. There was a general trend for plants to be shorter and lighter at higher NH4 or urea proportions. These results refute the hypothesis that shoot size is under the control of N form. Depth of green foliar color correlated positively with proportion of NH4 or urea. Reputed NH4 toxicity symptoms of chlorosis, necrosis, and curling of older leaves occurred only at adversely low pH levels below 5.2 in experiment 2. Resistance of plants to this disorder under conditions of pH levels in the range of 5.4 to 5.8, high N application rates, and applications of 100% NH4 indicates that bedding plants during commercial production are fairly resistant to this disorder.
Five common sources of perlite used in the North American horticultural industry were tested for their release of fluoride during five successive teachings with pH 5.2 sodium phosphate buffer (1 cc perlite/ml buffer). Soluble fluoride in the first leachate ranged from 0.05 to 0.8 mg/l and in the fifth leachate from 0.01 to 0.18 mg/l. Lilium Asiatic hybrids `Pixie Grange' and `Sunray', Chlorophytum comosum (Thumb.) Jacques `Variegatum', and Gibasis pellucida (Martens & Gal.) D. Hunt `Bridal Veil' were. grown in sphagnum peat moss plus perlite substrates ranging up to 50% perlite and at substrate pH levels from 4.6 to 7.0. No fluoride toxicity occurred in these crops in any treatments. The precaution against the use of perlite in substrates used for growing fluoride sensitive crops needs to be reconsidered.
Nutrient solution with a molar ratio of 10 N: 1 P: 3 K was applied in scheduled intervals at rates of 0.5, 1, 4, or 20 mm N (NO3 + NH4) to Dendranthema ×grandiflorum (Ramat.) Kitamura `Sunny Mandalay' plants seven (7/day) or 14 times/day (14/day). These plants were compared to a 20 mm N control in which nutrient solution was applied when the soil moisture tension reached 30 kPa. Plants with 7/day had significant quadratic relationships for height, width, and dry weight, with the lowest responses at the low nutrient concentration. With 14/day, height and dry weight did not differ, although width did increase linearly with nutrient solution concentration. However, linear regression slopes for all three variables were much lower with 1Vday than with 7/day. At midcrop in both experiments, significant regression curves indicated that the lower concentrations of nutrient solution resulted in lower tissue N and K levels; however, slopes of the linear regressions were lower with 14/day than with 7/day. With 7/day, the water content (percentage) of plants in the schedule-fertilized treatments was higher in plants receiving higher nutrient concentrations, as indicated by the significant linear and quadratic regression curves. With 14/day, the water content was linearly related to solution nutrient concentration, but with a lower slope than with 7/day. These three trends indicate that steady-state nutrition was more closely achieved in a commercial-style substrate with 14/day applications of nutrient solution. These results suggest that plant growth that meets commercial expectations can be achieved at lower soil solution nutrient concentrations than currently applied.
Soilless substrates have little capacity to sorb PO4. One way to reduce PO4 leaching during production is to increase the substrate retention of PO4. Adsorption isotherms were created at 25 C for alumina (aluminum oxide); the 2:1 calcined clays arcillite (montmorillonite plus illite) and attapulgite.; and a medium of 70 peat: 30 perlite using solutions of KH2PO4 at rates of P ranging from 0 to 20000 μg·ml-1. Material sorbed at the rate resulting in maximum P adsorption was then desorbed 22 times. Sorbing concentrations necessary to establish an equilibrium P concentration of 10 μg·ml-1 in the substrate solution were estimated from these curves. Materials were-charged with P at these estimated rates and evaluated in a greenhouse study in which each material was tested at 10 and 30% by volume of a 70 peat: 30 perlite substrate used to produce Dendranthema × grandiflorum `Sunny Mandalay'. Phosphate, K, and pH were determined on unaltered soil solutions biweekly throughout the cropping cycle and foliar analyses were determined on tissue collected at mid- and end-crop. Isotherm and greenhouse data indicated that alumina, arcillite, and attapulgite effectively retained and slowly released K as well as PO4 over time. Alumina was most effective at retaining P, sorbing 16800 μg/cc compared to 3100 and 7800 μg P sorbed/cc for arcillite and attapulgite, respectively, when sorbed at P concentrations resulting in an equilibrium concentration of approximately 10 μg P/ml.
Many soilless root media have limited ability to retain nutrients. Zeolites are minerals that have substantial nutrient buffering capacity and can be precharged with K, and possibly PO4, and combined with soilless media to provide these nutrients during crop production. The zeolite clinoptilolite was precharged with K and PO4 at two rates that were estimated from sorption isotherms to result in equilibrium root medium solution concentrations of P at >1 μg·ml–1 (low rate) and K at 125 μg·ml–1 (high rate). Precharged clinoptilolite was mixed with a 7 sphagnum peat: 3 perlite root medium to comprise 20% (v/v) and evaluated as the sole source of K and PO4 during production of Dendranthema ×grandiflorum (Ramat.) Kitamura `Sunny Mandalay'. Phosphate, K, Na, and pH were determined on unaltered bulk medium solutions collected over the course of the cropping cycle, and foliar analyses were determined on tissue collected at mid- and end of crop. Plants that relied on K release from precharged clinoptilolite at the low and high rates and received a N/P/-K fertilizer produced growth and tissue K concentrations that were not significantly different than the control which received a complete fertilizer. Plants that relied on PO4 release of precharged clinoptilolite did not result in growth or tissue P levels similar to those of the complete control. Phosphate levels in the root medium solution were adequate only during the first month of the cropping cycle, but PO4 release should be taken into consideration when developing a fertilization program using precharged clinoptilolite to provide other nutrients. Using precharged clinoptilolite at the low rate reduced K losses through leaching to 26% of the amount leached from control plants receiving K at 176 mg·L–1 at each watering.
Soilless container root media have little capacity to retain P, and preplant amendments of triple superphosphate (TSP) and water-soluble fertilizer (WSF) P applications are readily leached from them. A soilless medium modified with Al2(SO4)3 was tested to reduce such P losses. Aluminum sulfate solutions were applied to a 70 sphagnum peat: 30 perlite (v/v) medium to result in 0.32, 0.96, and 1.92 kg Al/m3 and dried at 70C. Adsorption isotherms (25C, 0 to 500 mg P/liter) showed that P retention increased as the rate of Al addition increased. In a greenhouse study, plants of Dendranthema ×grandiflorum (Ramat.) Kitamura `Sunny Mandalay' were grown in Al-modified media and an unmodified medium in factorial combination with P from preplant amendment of 0.1 kg TSP-P/m3, or P applied at each watering as WSF at rates of 5.5 or 21.8 mg P/liter. The two highest rates of Al were excessive and resulted in low pH and excessive soluble Al levels in the root medium solution early in the cropping cycle, which were detrimental to plant growth. When the root medium was modified with 0.32 kg Al/m3, soluble Al levels in medium solution were not significantly different than in the unmodified control. TSP-P that leached was substantially reduced by the addition of Al, yet sufficient P was released throughout the cropping cycle for adequate plant growth. Plants grown in Al-modified medium with 0.1 kg TSP-P/m3 did not differ from control plants in unmodified medium + 0.27 kg TSP-P/m3 and were larger than plants grown in unmodified medium + 0.1 kg TSP-P/m3. Aluminum modification of the root medium substantially reduced P leaching when used with WSF containing P. In addition, growth of plants in unmodified medium fertilized with 5.5 vs. 21.8 mg P/liter was similar.