Adapting the pour-through medium extraction method to Phalaenopsis grown in sphagnum moss
Journal
HortScience
Journal Volume
43
Journal Issue
7
Pages
2167-2170
Date Issued
2008
Author(s)
Abstract
Sphagnum moss, which has very different chemical and physical characteristics compared with other soilless media, is commonly used as a substrate to grow Phalaenopsis in countries such as Japan and Taiwan. Pour-through (PT) is a nondestructive, effective, and convenient medium extraction method developed for peat-based media. To know if PT can be applied to sphagnum moss and to set up a standard procedure, experiments were conducted to test the effects of volume and electrical conductivity (EC) of the displacing solution and the timing of leachate collection on leachate properties. Results demonstrated that applying distilled water with a volume less than 70 mL to 10.5-cm pots 1 h after fertigation did not influence leachate EC and pH. Applying displacing solution with EC between 0.001 and 0.93 dS·m −1 1 h after fertigation did not affect leachate EC or pH. Thus, in theory, a variety of solutions may be used for displacement. Leachate properties were found to remain consistent when collected between 20 and 160 min after fertigation. These results demonstrated that PT can be successfully used in Phalaenopsis cultivation with sphagnum moss. Furthermore, substrate EC obtained by PT extraction was highly correlated with that by the press method, confirming that PT is a feasible medium extraction method for sphagnum moss in Phalaenopsis cultivation.
Type
journal article