Results of liquid feeding in the production of bedding plants. [Conference paper].
1980
Boertje G.A.
Petunias and Tagetes are the most important bedding plants grown in Holland, with an annual output of 24 million plants or 40 per cent of the total bedding plant trade. Many bedding plants are produced in soilblocks, but there is increasing interest in the production of bedding plants in multiple pot trays. The supermarkets in particular like to sell in units of for instance four plants. A multiple pot tray consists of 6 or 8 units with four pots per unit. The trays are filled with potting compost based on frozen black peat, peat moss, sand, dolomite lime and fertilisers. An experiment was carried out to determine the optimum rate of liquid feeding during the growing period of six types of bedding plants in multiple pot trays. The experiment was started in February 1978 and completed three months later. The best results in Petunias, Salvias, Tagetes and Ageratum were obtained with ten liquid feed applications consisting of the water-soluble fertiliser 17 + 6 + 18 at a concentration of 1 to 1.5 g per l water. Impatiens and Dahlias gave a positive response to higher liquid free applications. Osmocote 15 + 12 + 15 with an active release life of three to four months, applied to the potting compost at a rate of 2 kg per m3 before potting up, also gave satisfactory results in the case of Petunias.
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