The concepts of nutrition and nutrients are often overlooked, merely blended together, or considered as the same or interchangeable idea. Mengel and Kirkby (1982) best described the difference between nutrition and nutrients as nutrition being the "supply and absorption of chemical compounds needed for growth and metabolism" and nutrients as simply being "chemical compounds required by an organism" for whatever undefined reason.
Only 16 elements, of the 92 natural mineral elements known, are considered essential nutrients for the growth of higher plants:
Bracketed elements are considered important, but not essential, for plant growth.
The classification of nutrient elements into the macro- or micronutrient category is purely arbitrary at best if based solely on the physiological requirements of the plant. For example, often the leaf tissue content of Mn is far in excess of the plant's physiological requirements for Mn . The classification of elements into macro- and micronutrients, based on biochemical concerns, is probably more sensible and appropriate.
Living plants consist of 27% organic matter (stems, roots, leaves, flowers and fruit), 70% water and 3% minerals (inorganic ions) (Mengel and Kirkby, 1982).
Successful cultivation of greenhouse vegetable crops on Grodan® growing media requires an understanding of plant nutrition. It is beneficial to understand the role(s) of each essential mineral within the plant in order to detect early symptoms of nutrient deficiency. Nutrient deficiency depends on two key factors:
1. The role of a particular nutrient within a plant
2. Whether or not that element can be translocated from one area of the plant to another.
The guide has been written to provide greenhouse owners and managers with an overview of current best practice.
Do you want to learn more about Grodan? Feel free to sign up to our newsletter. Grodan ensures that growers can make optimum use of its products and services by interpretting the company’s knowledge of and experience with substrate cultivation in terms of up-to-date, crop-oriented advice. Ranging from tailor-made advice from crop consultants to newsletters, seminars and training courses and articles in trade journals.
Since 2022, a limited number of high-tech greenhouse pepper growers worldwide have faced a rapid and severe form of wilting that posed a threat to crop production. This has left growers searching for answers. In response, Grodan funded rigorous, independent research, collaborating with a wide range of industry partners to analyse all potential contributing factors. Findings to date currently point to a specific isolate of the pathogenic fungus Fusarium as the cause. Today in the Netherlands and Belgium the isolate it is referred to as Fusarium oxysporum radicis capsici (FORC). In Canada it is referred to as Fusarium Oxysporum Species Complex (FOSC). It is highly pathogenic and specific to peppers. Initial scientific reports also show that wilting caused by the Fusarium isolate can occur in both stone wool and organic substrates.
In comparison to other high-tech crops grown commercially, much less research has been done into cultivating lettuce on stone wool. At Grodan, we are keen to help increase the availability of science-based information by conducting lettuce trials with respected partners.
“Change starts from zero.” This phrase is increasingly echoed among European growers who want to eliminate or significantly reduce chemical plant protection products in greenhouse production. The “zero pesticide” trend has long dominated in France and, over the past three seasons, has been rapidly gaining momentum in the Netherlands—a country setting the pace for protected horticulture worldwide.
In an industry that deals with live plants, where timing can make or break a crop, access to reliable, high quality growing media is critical. That’s why Grodan made the decision in 2012 to invest in local production, opening a stone wool manufacturing facility in Milton, Ontario.
We are a global leader in the supply of innovative stone wool substrate solutions for the professional horticultural based on Precision Growing principles.
