Summary of Results
Product trial background & summary of results
Mineral wool is the most widely used substrate in the protected edible crop production industry. Mineral wool is an inert substrate that allows you to be in complete control of your root environment. Having been used for many years, much is known about best practice for growing crops in this substrate to maximise yield and fruit quality. EKOFibre is a virgin wood product and as such had the possibility to behave quite differently to mineral wool.
The main objective of these trials was to investigate and to assess the potential of using EKOFibre slabs for hydroponically grown tomato crops utilising many of the principles from mineral wool production and to assess the basic differences between growing in EKOFibre compared to mineral wool.
At the end of the trial the woodfibre slabs were retained for possible inclusion in a “waste into rooting media” trial.
The trials showed it was possible to use EKOFibre slabs to grow hydroponically fed tomato plants using the same watering regime and nutrient feeds as used for mineral wool. The tomato crops were successfully grown for two seasons. There were no significant differences in either fruit quality or yield production compared to mineral wool during the trials.
Mineral Analysis
Correct nutrient analysis is very important for hydroponically grown crops and we were aware of the potential for nitrogen lock-up when using wood based growing media. The nutrient analysis showed that during the trials nitrate levels in the run-off were very similar and there were no major differences in any other mineral levels.
Plant Growth
At the end of the trials each plant in the main plot rows were recorded for plant length and number of trusses. There were no differences in the plant length or number of trusses produced.
Fruit Quality Assessments
Fruit quality assessments were carried out each week on 10 fruits per plot including visual disorders, % brix, pH and % dry matter. There were no differences in the quality of the fruits produced from the different substrates (table 5). All fruits had relatively low sugar levels (expressed by % brix, measured using the Atago, N-10, 0-10% refractometer). Disorder assessments also showed no differences between treatments.
Root Systems
At the end of the trial we compared the root systems. All the slab types had very good, healthy root systems. The contents of the EKOFibre grow bag appeared to be well formed and smelt fresh.