Abstract
(1) Background: The commercial sustainability of the citrus nursery industry involves cutting costs by using alternative planting substrates to replace (or partially replace) the conventional black peat. Conifer wood biochar was evaluated as a component of the growth medium in a commercial citrus nursery for Carrizo citrange seedlings. (2) Methods: Seven growth media mixtures (A–G) were tested. Each mixture consisted of 50% sandy volcanic soil with the remaining 50% made up as follows: A = black peat and perlite 1:1; B = biochar 1; C = black peat, perlite, and biochar 0.5:1:0.5; D = black peat and biochar 1:1; E = black peat, compost, and biochar 0.5:0.5:1; F = black peat, perlite, compost, and biochar 0.5:0.5:0.5:0.5; G = black peat and lapillus 1:1, this substrate, previously adopted by the hosting nursery, was the control. (3) Results: The best media for the rootstock studied here were those containing 25% biochar (mixtures D and E). In the deeper layers the substrate was more compact, and the roots were limited to the shallow layers of the pot. (4) Conclusions: Conifer wood biochar can be partly added in place of peat in growth media mixtures, thus reducing costs and ameliorating sustainability.
Highlights
Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) is a major pathogen of citriculture and is responsible for what are sometimes catastrophic economic losses wherever citrus is grown [1]
The commercial sustainability of tree production cycles involves cutting costs by using alternative planting substrates to take the place of the conventional black peat [3], which is a limited resource becoming increasingly scarce and expensive
A Growing media was 50% sandy soil + 50% of the following: A = black peat and perlite 1:1; B = biochar 1; C = black peat, perlite, and biochar 0.5:1:0.5; D = black peat and biochar 1:1; E = black peat, compost, and biochar 0.5:0.5:1; F = black peat, perlite, compost, and biochar 0.5:0.5:0.5:0.5; G = black peat and lapillus 1:1
Summary
Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) is a major pathogen of citriculture and is responsible for what are sometimes catastrophic economic losses wherever citrus is grown [1]. Citrus replanting is not well recorded, but it is estimated that over the decade some 20,000 citrus hectares will need replanting, and the only chance of success is if sour orange rootstocks are replaced by pathogen tolerant ones [1]. Examples of the latter are the trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata L.) and its hybrids. The citrus nursery industry must implement strict CTV prevention strategies including routine analyses of plant material [2]. Among the alternatives to black peat is biochar, a solid material derived from the thermochemical combustion of biomass in the absence of oxygen [4]
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