Скачать или смотреть IFSRS, Karamana - Krishi Arivukal XLl -"Light weight growing media for terrace gardens"

Urban farmers mostly resort to terrace gardening because of severe shortage of cultivable land. This entails top quality potting media light enough to reduce the weight load on terraces, while rich in nutrients and having excellent physical properties. As, sand and soil, the prime ingredients of the conventional potting medium are not easily available for urban farmers, identification of alternative resources to substitute these components is of vital importance. Against this backdrop, a collaborative project was carried out by NCRMI and KAU to test different Coir pith based light weight media for the production of major vegetables. In the trial, soil and sand portions were either partially or fully substituted by natural resources like coir pith to generate lighter media. Of the 16 different potting media tested, the study identified three media which registered vegetable yields in a similar or better manner compared to the conventional media. These media also registered a weight reduction to the tune of 25 to 45 per cent compared to the conventional medium. The main experiment was carried out at IFSRS, Karamana and the results were confirmed in farm trials conducted at 5 different locations in Thiruvananthapuram.