| Nursery producers grow plants in containers, mainly using substrates based on peat. In order to replace the use of peat, diverse mixtures of substrates combining different proportions of the moss Sphagnum magellanicum Brid. (40, 50 and 60%) and alternative organic materials, such as compost, humus and composted pine bark, were tested. In the frst trial under laboratory conditions, conducted in October 2006, the physicochemical characteristics of nine initial mixtures, including a control, were determined. Five mixtures, with similar physicochemical conditions as the control, and a commercial peat mixture, were selected by the application of Euclidean minimum distances. The fnally selected mixtures were three combinations of moss with composted pine bark... |
