Characterization, Simulation, Analysis and Management of Hydraulic Properties of Greenhouse Plant Growth Substrates

Abstract

The greenhouse industry is facing significant challenges such as the demand for more efficient use of energy and natural resources and prevention of detrimental environmental impacts. Reducing negative environmental impacts can be achieved by utilizing recycled and environmentally friendly products and by optimizing the use of water and root zone substrates. New and advanced root zone substrates are currently tested as substitute for natural soils in greenhouse agriculture. They can be inert non-organic materials such as rockwool and perlite. These are mined products from the earth, and are difficult to dispose after use. Natural substrates such as peat are being consumed faster than being regenerated. A new potential substrate that consists of recycled foamed glass aggregates is considered an alternative, as it is environmentally friendly, non-toxic and disposable. Experiments with foamed glass aggregates and with foamed glass aggregate/coconut coir mixtures indicated that the yield of greenhouse tomatoes was not statistically significant different (α=0.05) when compared to rockwool. To investigate the potential application of recycled glass as a root zone substrate, physical and hydraulic properties were measured. For comparison, the same measurements were completed for rockwool, coconut coir, perlite, and PET/PE fibers as well as for a mixture of coconut coir and recycled glass. The water characteristics (WC) determined for each substrate exhibited distinct air entry potentials, which provided information for irrigation scheduling, water storage and aeration for optimum plant growth conditions. Coconut coir and rockwool exhibited a unimodal shaped water retention curve, while foamed glass aggregates and perlite exhibited bimodal shaped curves. The obtained substrate properties were used as input paramaters for HYDRUS- 2D/3D model to simulate water mass balance and matric potential distributions within a typical growth container of foamed glass aggregates. The simulated matric potential and water content distributions were compared to tensiometer measurements of matric potential in the foamed glass aggregates. The simulations compared favorably with laboratory experiments measured under controlled environmental conditions.