A new wood fibre substrate for hydroponic tomato and pepper crops

Abstract

The use of red cedar sawdust as a growing substrate for hydroponic tomato and pepper production was tested by comparison with yellow cedar sawdust and coir. In experiments with 14-d-old transplants, growth inhibition was observed in response to red cedar compared with yellow cedar sawdust. However, growth of plants transplanted at 28 d was better in red cedar than in yellow cedar, and those planted at 38 d were unaffected by sawdust type. Additionally, tomato and pepper plants grown to maturity under conditions similar to commercial production systems showed no negative effects of red cedar on fruit yield or quality when compared with plants grown in either yellow cedar or coir. There were also no differences in plants grown in either new or old red cedar sawdust. The data suggest that western red cedar should be considered as a viable substrate for production of greenhouse vegetable crops. Key words: Western red cedar, tomato, pepper, hydroponics, soilless culture, yellow cedar, coir, greenhouse