Cge Trnsplnt Production Using Orgnic Medi, 2008 Anu Rngrjn, Cornell University, Deprtment of Horticulture, r47@cornell.edu Betsy Leonrd, Cornell University, Deprtment of Horticulture, i1@cornell.edu Allison Jck, Cornell University, Deprtment of Plnt Pthology nd Plnt-Microe Biology, lh54@cornell.edu Introduction Successful trnsplnt production egins with good growing medi. Helthy vigorous trnsplnts will e less susceptile to insects, diseses nd trnsplnt shock leding to etter crop performnce. Formulting orgnic potting mixes is especilly chllenging. Orgnic sources of nitrogen such s compost cn e inconsistent. Compost cn chnge over time with storge nd N relese cn e unpredictle. Mny orgnic potting mixes re supplemented with nitrogen sources such s lflf mel, soyen mel nd lood mel. An lterntive to compost is vermicompost. Vermicompost is thought to e more solule nitrogen source s n mendment for orgnic potting medi. Pst reserch in the Rngrjn l hs shown improved yield with vermicompost compred to thermophillic compost. The oject of this project is to crete n improved potting medi for orgnic vegetle trnsplnt production. Here, we tested six different potting medi for growth nd productivity of cge. Trnsplnt production The coopertor grower hs n orgniclly mnged greenhouse for vegetle trnsplnt production. The fcility is eing operted to comply with ll the NOFA-NY (locl certifier) nd NOP requirements. The growers mix ws Sunshine Orgnic Blend (SunGro) plus Fertrell 5-5-3 (Fertrell Co, Binridge, PA,12 ls/yd 3 ). Sunshine Orgnic Blend ingredients re Cndin sphgnum pet moss, corse grde perlite, gypsum, dolomitic lime, nd long-lsting wetting gent. Vermicompost (Worm Power, Avon, NY), Alsk hummus (Fertrell Co, Binridge, PA) nd lood mel mix were dded to the growers mix on frm (Tle 1). The grower ws interested in supplementing his mix with lood mel nd Alsk hummus to improve plnt growth t their fcility. Tretment mixes were plced into 338-cell flts. Before plnting, su-smples of ll potting mix tretments were sent to the University of Msschusetts Soil nd Plnt Tissue Testing Lortory, Amherst, MA, for chemicl nlysis (Tle 2). Cge seedling production strted on April 12, 2008. Orgnic cge seed cv. Kitlin (Seedwy, Elizethtown, PA) ws plnted in the try filled with mixes. The seed trys were plced on rcks in germintion room (70 º F for 1.5 dys nd then moved to the greenhouse. The plnts were grown t pproximtely 75º F dy nd 55º F nights. Vitzyme (1/3 ounce per 500 sq ft, Fertrell Co, Binridge, PA) ws pplied three dys fter trys were moved to the greenhouse. Fertrell 2-3-1 (1 gllon/4350 sq ft, Fertrell Co, Binridge, PA) ws pplied s folir spry every four to five dys. Ten plnts from ech tretment were cut t soil level, dried nd weighed to determine oveground iomss on April 25, My 5, My 12, 19 nd 27 (Figure 1). 1
Results nd Discussion Nitrte-N nd mmonium-n were most ffected y mendment choice (Tle 2). Vermicompost incresed nitrte-n y out 600 mg/kg when dded to mix. Blood mel incresed mmonium-n y out 300 mg/kg when dded to mix. Alsk Hummus incresed oth nitrte-n nd mmonium-n y only 100 mg/kg when dded to the grower s mix. Overll plnt growth ws superior in grower mix + vermicompost nd grower mix + loodmel (Figure 1). Grower mix, grower mix top dressed with vermicompost, grower mix + Alsk humus, grower mix + vermicompost produced much smller trnsplnts thn other mixes in this growing environment. Growth ws not enhnced y dding Alsk Hummus or vermicompost only to the grower mix. This experiment ws repeted t Cornell University s orgnic greenhouses in My 2008 t higher greenhouse temperture which gretly ffected the results (Cge Trnsplnt Production Using Orgnic Medi t Cornell) 1. In the supplementl tril the comintion of 10% vermicompost nd lood mel produced the highest trnsplnt iomss. Additionl trils re eing crried out t set tempertures in order to etter understnd the effect of temperture on performnce of orgnic potting medi mendments. This project ws funded y New York Frm Viility Institute with dditionl funding from the Orgnic Frming Reserch Foundtion. Tle 1. Orgnic trnsplnt medi evluted for the production of cge. Tretment Formultion Grower mix SunGro Sunshine Orgnic Blend plus Fertrell 5-5-3 (12 ls/yd 3 ) Grower mix plus Blood mel mix Grower mix with lood mel, green snd nd rock phosphte (7 ls/yd 3 ) Growers plus Diry vermicompost 10% (v/v) Our mix plus diry vermicompost Growers plus Diry vermicompost 10% (v/v) plus Blood mel mix Grower mix plus diry vermicompost with lood mel, green snd nd rock phosphte (7 ls/yd 3 ) Growers mix topped with vermicompost SunGro Sunshine Orgnic Blend plus Fertrell 5-5-3 (12 ls/yd 3 ) Growers mix plus Alsk Hummus 10%(v/v) SunGro Sunshine Orgnic Blend plus Fertrell 5-5-3 (12 ls/yd 3 ) plus Alsk Hummus 1 http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/cgecornell.pdf 2
Tle 2. Nutrient nlysis of orgnic potting medi 2008. mg/kg Medi Bulk density (g/cm3) Corse frg ph EC (ds/m) y % totl N Nitrte-N Ammonium- N % OM % Estimted Cron/ orgnic C N rtio Grower's mix 0.15 3.5 6.4 2.25 0.97 198 233 55.9 30.2 31.1 Grower's plus BM z 0.22 8.2 6.8 1.93 1.07 200 526 56.8 30.7 28.7 vermicompost plus BM 0.2 5.0 7.3 3.44 1.92 171 211 61 32.9 17.2 lsk hummus 0.23 5.4 6.5 1.57 0.89 288 315 62.2 33.6 37.7 vermicompost 0.32 5.4 7.1 3.43 1.43 758 226 64 34.6 24.2 y ds/m =1mmho/cm = 1 ms/cm = 1000 us/cm z BM equls Blood mel, rock phosphte nd green snd (7 ls/yd 3 of ech) 0.25 0.20 Growers mix loodmel mix dry (g) 0.15 0.10 0.05 0.00 c c c c c c c c 13 DAP 23 DAP 30 DAP 37 DAP 43 DAP 10% verm+ loodmel mix 10% Alsk Hummus 10% verm Growers mix with verm topdressed Figure 1. Seeds were sown on 4/12/08 in 338-cell trys nd were grown t 75º F dy nd 55º F night tempertures. DAP = dys fter plnting cge seed. Columns leled y different letter on the sme plnt dte re significntly different t p<0.05. 3
Figure 2. Cge seedlings grown in grower s mix mended with 10% vermicompost nd lood mel (L, spotty germintion) nd 10% vermicompost (R.) Figure 3. Cge trnsplnts in grower s mix + 10% vermicompost + lood mel. 4
Figure 4. Cge trnsplnts in growers se mix + lood mel. 5