A Study on the Physical and Hydraulic Characteristics of Cocopeat Perlite Mixture as a Growing Media in Containerized Plant Production

Abstract

A well-known planting medium in soilless culture is a coconut based material famously known in Malaysia as cocopeat. It is a viable ecologically friendly peat soil substitute for containerized crop production. The multipurpose growing media had received much interest particularly in commercial applications. This study focused on the physical and hydraulic characteristics of cocopeat perlite mixture as a growing media in containerized plant production. Perlite was added to cocopeat at a ratio of 3 cocopeat: 1 perlite. Bulk density, particle density, porosity, particle size distribution, water holding capacity, wettability and hydraulic conductivity of the media were evaluated. About 82.93% of the total particles were in the range between 0.425 and 4 mm in diameter at a bulk density of 0.09 g/cm3. Total porosity (79%) and wettability improved with the incorporation of perlite to cocopeat. This study showed that water holding capacity was very high at 912.54% whereas the saturated hydraulic conductivity was low at 0.1 cm/s. The results showed that adding perlite to cocopeat had improved the physical and hydraulic characteristics of the media.

Full text

Sains Malaysiana 46(6)(2017): 975–980
http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2017-4606-17
A Study on the Physical and Hydraulic Characteristics of Cocopeat Perlite Mixture
as a Growing Media in Containerized Plant Production
(Kajian terhadap Sifat Fizikal dan Hidraulik Campuran Cocopeat Perlite sebagai
Media Pertumbuhan dalam Pengeluran Tanaman dalam Bekas)
WAN FAZILAH FAZLIL ILAHI* & DESA AHMAD
ABSTRACT
A well-known planting medium in soilless culture is a coconut based material famously known in Malaysia as cocopeat.
It is a viable ecologically friendly peat soil substitute for containerized crop production. The multipurpose growing media
had received much interest particularly in commercial applications. This study focused on the physical and hydraulic
characteristics of cocopeat perlite mixture as a growing media in containerized plant production. Perlite was added to
cocopeat at a ratio of 3 cocopeat: 1 perlite. Bulk density, particle density, porosity, particle size distribution, water holding
capacity, wettability and hydraulic conductivity of the media were evaluated. About 82.93% of the total particles were
in the range between 0.425 and 4 mm in diameter at a bulk density of 0.09 g/cm3. Total porosity (79%) and wettability
improved with the incorporation of perlite to cocopeat. This study showed that water holding capacity was very high at
912.54% whereas the saturated hydraulic conductivity was low at 0.1 cm/s. The results showed that adding perlite to
cocopeat had improved the physical and hydraulic characteristics of the media.
Keywords: Bulk density; cocopeat; hydraulic conductivity; perlite; water holding capacity
ABSTRAK
Media tanaman yang diketahui baik dalam budaya tanaman tanpa tanah ialah bahan berasaskan kelapa dikenali
sebagai cocopeat di Malaysia. Ia mesra hijau dan mampu menggantikan gambut untuk pengeluaan tanaman di dalam
bekas. Bahan tanaman serbaguna ini telah menarik minat pelbagai pihak terutamanya dalam aplikasi komersial.
Kajian ini memfokuskan kepada sifat zikal dan hidraulik campuran perlite dan cocopeat sebagai media tanaman di
dalam pengeluaran tanaman dalam bekas. Perlite telah ditambah kepada cocopeat pada nisbah 3 cocopeat: 1 perlite.
Ketumpatan pukal, ketumpatan zarah, kadar keliangan, pengasingan saiz zarah, daya pegangan air, kebolehbasahan
dan kekonduksian hidraulik telah dikaji. Purata 83% daripada jumlah zarah berada dalam julat lingkungan antara
0.425 dan 4 mm diameter untuk ketumpatan pukat 0.09 g/cm3. Jumlah kadar keliangan (79%) dan kebolehbasahan
telah meningkat dengan penambahan perlite kepada cocopeat. Kajian ini telah menunjukkan daya pegangan air adalah
sangat tinggi iaitu 912.54% sementara kadar kekonduksian hidraulik adalah rendah 0.1 cm/s. Keputusan kajian telah
menunjukkan penambahan perlite kepada cocopeat meningkatkan ciri zikal dan hidraulik media.
Kata kunci: Cocopeat; daya pegangan air; kekonduksian hidraulik; ketumpatan pukal; perlite
INTRODUCTION
Substrates or growing media is dened as solid materials
other than soil, which can be in the form of mixtures
or alone. These media should guarantee better rooting
conditions and provide anchorage for the root system,
supply water and nutrients to plants and suitable aeration
environment to roots (Gruda et al. 2013, 2006) . A wide
selection of growing media is available and the choice
depends on grower’s nancial and technical implications
(Gruda et al. 2013). However, most growers use substrates
that are locally available as it is cheap and reliable. In
tropical and subtropical area, coir which is a natural ber
material extracted from coconut husk are most popular.
This coconut husk contains brous material known as coir
that contains thick mesocarp of the coconut fruit (Meerow
1997). From the coconut husk, long bers of coir are
extracted and used for manufacturing products like brushes,
mattress stufng and seats. The process of extracting long
coir ber will leave behind waste product namely short coir
ber and dust. Hume (1949) in his paper mentioned that
this short coir ber is a mass of tiny, brown and irregular
shape bits known as coir dust. Later he suggested that coir
dust was renamed to cocopeat as this material has many
characteristic of horticultural peat. This coconut coir dust or
cocopeat is widely used for containerized growing medium
for the production of ornamental potter plants (Bagci et al.
2011; Scagel 2003; Tariq et al. 2012) and other horticultural
species (Ayesha et al. 2011; Erwan et al. 2013; Rubio et
al. 2011; Tehranifar et al. 2007).
Cocopeat is a suitable growing media with acceptable
physical and chemical attributes such as pH, electrical
conductivity, bulk density and others (Abad et al. 2002).

976
However cocopeat has a very high water holding capacity
which causes poor aeration in the root zone. This will later
affect the oxygen diffusion to the roots. Depending on the
handling and processing technique, the physical properties
of cocopeat can easily affect the air capacity and water
retention (Abad et al. 2002). Incorporation of coarser
material into cocopeat media will solve this problem and
improve aeration (Yahya et al. 2009). Perlite is recognized
as media additive to increase aeration and draining of
a media. It has large particles and low water holding
capacity hence is most suitable for mixing with cocopeat.
The physical shape of perlite will create passage forms
which consequently balance the moisture retention and
aeration in the root zone. In order to obtain the optimum
growing media condition, incorporation of 1 part of perlite
to 3 parts of cocopeat was most recommended (Cho et al.
2006; Mobini et al. 2009). Addition of 25% perlite into
cocopeat has improved aeration level in the media and
signicantly increased the growth and yield of potato
(Solanum tuberosum L.) (Mobini et al. 2009).
The possibility of combining cocopeat and perlite
mixture in a ratio of 3:1 to be used as growing media was
examined in this study. Physical properties of this mixture
including its bulk density, particle density, porosity, particle
size distribution, water holding capacity, wettability
and hydraulic conductivity was investigated. Thus, the
objectives of this study was to establish and categorized
the physical properties of cocopeat perlite mixture (3
cocopeat: 1 perlite) and its applicability as a growing media
in containerized crop production.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
MEDIA PREPARATION
The study on physical characteristics was carried out at
the Soil and Water Engineering Laboratory, Faculty of
Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor,
Malaysia. The media chosen was a ratio of 3 cocopeat: 1
perlite (by volume). Mixture was prepared in a large tank
and mixed proportionally. A growing container 2 m long,
0.2 m high and 0.3 m wide was placed on a raised bench.
The mixture was then placed into the growing container
and compacted lightly by hand. As much as ve samples
of the media were collected for the bulk density, particle
density and porosity analyses, while three samples were
collected for the particle size distribution, water holding
capacity, wettability and hydraulic conductivity analyses.
The results for each characterization were obtained from
the mean procedure of samples used.
CHARACTERIZATION
BULK DENSITY
Evaluation of bulk density was done by adapting the
method by De Boodt et al. (1973) and Yahya et al. (2009)
using core rings. Core rings were pushed into the media
until it fully penetrated and excess media at the top and
bottom of the ring was cut. After recording their weights,
core rings together with media were oven dried at 105°C for
24 h. The internal dimension of the core ring was measured
to determine bulk density using the following formula,
ρ
b = Wb – Wr / (πh d2/4),
where
ρ
b is the bulk density; Wb is the weight of media
and core ring after oven dried (g); Wr is the weight of the
core ring (g); h is the height of the core (cm); and d is the
core diameter (cm).
PARTICLE DENSITY
The particle density was determined using the pycnometer
method. Five to ten grams of oven dried media was
inserted into a dry and weighed S.G. bottle and weighted
again. Deaired distilled water was added into the bottle
until sample was covered. The bottle was placed inside a
desicator and vacuumed until ‘boiling’ stops and relled
with deaired distilled water. In order to obtain mass of
bottle with oven dried sample and water, the bottle stopper
was rst tted and outside bottle was dried. The weight of
bottle and water was also measured by weighing the bottle
lled with deaired distilled water. Particle density can be
calculated using the following formula,
ρ
s =
ρ
w Ms/Mdw ,
where
ρ
s is the particle density;
ρ
w is the density of water
(g/cm3); Ms is the mass of oven dried media (g); and Mdw
the mass of water displaced by media (g).
TOTAL POROSITY
Porosity was determined using the following formula,
φ = 1 – (
ρ
b/
ρ
s),
where φ is the porosity;
ρ
b is the bulk density; and
ρ
s (g/
cm3) is the particle density. Bulk and particle densities
were determined earlier thus porosity can be determined.
PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION
Particle size analysis was determined using different sieve
sizes and an electromagnetic vibratory shaker (Unit Test
Scientic (UTS) Malaysia). It was used to separate the
different particle size fractions of the media. The sieves
size were 9.5, 6.3, 5.6, 4, 2, 1.4, 0.6, 0.425, 0.3, 0.25 and
0.125 mm. The media was shacked for 10 min and media
left in each sieve was calculated using the formula, percent
passing = Percent arriving - percent retained.
WATER HOLDING CAPACITY
The water holding capacity is dened as the total amount
of water a media can hold. Determination of water
holding capacity was done by adapting the method used

977
by Shinohara et al. (1999) and followed by Harding and
Ross (1964). By using ltered funnel with the lower part
plugged with stopper, media samples were saturated in
water at a ratio of 1 media: 2 water and left overnight.
After water was left to drain for 3 h, the remaining media
was oven-dried for 24 h at 105°C. Water holding capacity
can be calculated using the following formula,
WHC = (Mw/Ms) × 100,
where WHC is the water holding capacity; Mw is the mass
of water retained in the sample (g); and Ms is the mass of
oven dried sample (g).
WETTABILITY
Evaluation of wettability was done following the method
described by Yahya et al. (2009). Measurements were taken
by soaking the pots lled with 1 L media sample in standing
water of 2 cm deep in plastic trays. Water was added to the
tray whenever the 2 cm water level decreased. Wettability
of the media was monitored every hour for the duration of
6 h using an electronic balance. Moisture content absorbed
by the media was determined by subtracting the wet weight
of the media with the dry weight and graph of moisture
content against time can be plotted.
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
Hydraulic conductivity (k) is the measurement of how
ease water can flow through pore spaces in a media
while saturated hydraulic conductivity (ks) describes
the movement of water through saturated media. Higher
values of k refer to permeable material that allows water
to ow easily while lower values means less permeable
material and restrict water ow. Hydraulic conductivity
at saturation was determined by using the constant head
method as described by Klute and Dirksen (1986) using
the permeameter device. This method allows water to
ow through a column of cylindrical media sample under
constant head condition. At the same time, discharge was
monitored through the media over a period of time. With
the known discharge, time and measured length and cross
sectional area of the sample, hydraulic conductivity can
be calculated using the following formula,
k = Q/(I A t),
where Q is the amount of water (cm3) measured in the
graduate cylinder according to time t (s); I is the hydraulic
gradient; and A is the sample cross section area (cm2).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION
Cocopeat perlite mixture were sieved to separate their
particles at twelve fractions (<0.125, 0.125 - 0.25, 0.25
- 0.3, 0.3 - 0.425, 0.425 - 0.6, 0.6 - 1.4, 1.4 -2, 2.0 - 4.0,
4.0 - 5.6, 5.6 - 6.3, 6.3 - 9.5 and >9.5 mm) as shown in
Figure 1. Most of the mixture particles were in the range
between 0.425 and 4 mm in diameter (82.93%). Among
these particles, perlite was only found in sieves size 1.4, 2
and 4 mm. More than 90% of the cocopeat particles were
from pith tissues which were less than 8 mm (Evans et al.
1996; Fornes et al. 2003). A similar result was obtained
by Noguera et al. (2003) with 90% of coconut coir dust
particles were less than 8 mm. Furthermore, long and short
bers were found in sieves size 9.5, 2, 1.4 and 0.6 mm.
Long and short bers were not found in sieves less than 0.6
mm. The length of the bers varied in each sieve according
to the sieve diameter. Sieve size 9.5 mm collected the
longest ber of 100 to 110 mm length while in sieve 0.6
mm collected the shortest ber from 10 to 20 mm.
BULK DENSITY, PARTICLE DENSITY AND TOTAL POROSITY
The bulk density of the mixture was 0.09 g/cm3 (Table 1)
which is less than 1 g/cm3 thus can be categorized as light
media. This value was also obtained by Evans and Stamps
(1996) for cocopeat perlite mixture at 60:40 and 80:20.
FIGURE 1. Particle size distribution and standard deviation (SD) of cocopeat perlite
mixture (3:1). Data are mean ± SD (n=3 samples)

978
However, lower bulk density (0.05 g/cm3) was found by
Yahya et al. (2009) and higher bulk density (0.2 g/cm3)
from Cho et al. (2006) for the cocopeat perlite mixture
(3:1). The difference of bulk density values were due to
the variation of particle size distribution in the mixtures
(Yahya et al. 2009). In this study, particle size from 2 to 4
mm had the highest weight distribution of 32.17% which
leads to a higher bulk density compared to other studies.
Using light materials in the mixture also resulted in a low
particle density of 0.42 g/cm3 (Table 1). According to
Sudhagar & Sekar (2009) particle density is lower when
higher amount of cocopeat is available in the mixture. This
might be due to the lighter weight of cocopeat. Adding 1
part of perlite to 3 parts of cocopeat in the mixture resulted
to an acceptable porosity level of 79% (Table 1) which is
adequate for the root gas exchanges between the root zone
and the environment (Cho et al. 2006; Khalaj et al. 2011;
Mobini et al. 2009).
WATER HOLDING CAPACITY
In this study, the water holding capacity was 912.54% of
dry weight (Table 1) comparable from studies of Evans
and Stamps (1996) but lower than Mobini et al. (2009)
and higher than Cho et al. (2006) for the cocopeat perlite
ratio at 3:1. Cocopeat is known for its high water holding
capacity and can be comparable to sphagnum peat which
normally holds 400% to 800% of its weight in water (Abad
et al. 2005; Evans et al. 1996). Evans et al. (1996) obtained
water holding capacities of coir dust samples ranged from
750% to 1100% of dry weight while Evans and Stamps
(1996) obtained 977% for 60:40 coir and perlite mixture.
Higher water holding capacity had resulted to a greater root
fresh weight, heights and shoot fresh weights of geranium,
petunia and marigold plant (Evans & Stamps 1996). For a
growing media mixture, increase in cocopeat will increase
the water holding capacity.
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
In this study, ks was 0.1 cm/s (Table 1). This value is
between the values obtained in other studies from 0.046 to
0.19 cm/s (Quintero et al. 2008, 2006; Raviv et al. 2001) for
cocopeat alone. Londra (2010) obtained a value of 0.185
cm/s for ks in 50% coir and 50% perlite. Comparing the
results obtain in this study and previous studies; it can be
said that the ks at 0.1 cm/s is acceptable and in the range
obtained by the previous studies. The hydraulic properties
and conductivity of a media is inuenced by the particle
size distribution. Clearly the media used in this study has
low ks which indicate water can retain much longer in the
particles.
WETTABILITY
Wettability determines the aptitude of a material to reduce
the surface tension of water in contact with the material
so that it can wet and spread over the surface. In soilless
culture, wettability has an important role to determine the
initial uptake of water by media and its consequence water
movement characteristic (Yahya et al. 2009). The capacity
of cocopeat perlite mixture to absorb water is represented
in Figure 2. For the rst 2 h of soaking, the media absorb
water drastically until it reached a peak at water content
119 mL. After 2 h of soaking, the water content still
increase by time but at a slower rate. The same pattern
was observed from the study of Yahya et al. (2009) with
cocopeat as base media. Moreover, studies from Abad et
al. (2005) and Mazuela et al. (2005) had shown that the
wettability absorption was less than 7 min for coconut
coir dust. This shows that cocopeat has a hydrophilic
characteristic originally contain in the media that highly
attract water (Cresswell 2002). Among the factors that may
affect wettability over time in cocopeat are its particle size,
pore spaces and amount of ber contain in it. Wettability
of cocopeat can be increased by manipulating the capillary
pores in the media using wetting agents such as sand and
perlite added into the media (Urrestarazu et al. 2008).
CONCLUSION
The increase interest in soilless media particularly cocopeat
for containerized plant production had emphasized the
importance of physical characteristics studies in order to
improve the utilization of this media. Among the physical
characteristics studied were bulk density, particle density,
porosity, particle size distribution, water holding capacity,
wettability and hydraulic conductivity. A percentage of
83.19% of the particles in the media were in the range
between 0.425 and 4 mm in diameter. The bulk and
particle densities of the media were 0.09 and 0.42 g/
TABLE 1. Physical characteristics of cocopeat perlite mixtures (3:1). For bulk density, particle
density and porosity the means and standard deviation are from ve different measurements
(n=5) while those of water holding capacity and hydraulic conductivity are
from three different readings (n=3)
Property Value
Bulk density (g/cm3)
Particle density (g/cm3)
Total porosity (%)
Water holding capacity (% wgt)
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (cm/s)
0.09 ± 0.01
0.42 ± 0.03
79 ± 0.02
912.54 ± 24.4
0.1 ± 0.004

979
cm3, respectively, which represent light materials. The
inclusion of perlite to cocopeat improved total porosity
at an acceptable value of 79%. Moreover cocopeat has a
very high water holding capacity of 912.54% which can
be related to the low saturated hydraulic conductivity of
0.1 cm/s. The wettability of cocopeat perlite mixture was
very high as the media continues to retain water over
time. These ndings provide useful information on the
properties of the mixture for containerized plant production
in soilless culture.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank the Department of Biological
and Agricultural, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra
Malaysia for funding this project. High appreciation to the
staff and post graduate students from the Soil and Water
Engineering Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti
Putra Malaysia for the assistance and technical lessons on
the handling of laboratory equipment.
REFERENCES
Abad, M., Fornes, F., Carrión, C., Noguera, V., Noguera, P.,
Maquieira, Á. & Puchades, R. 2005. Physical properties of
various coconut coir dusts compared to peat. HortScience
40(7): 2138-2144.
Abad, M., Noguera, P., Puchades, R., Maquieira, A. & Noguera,
V. 2002. Physico-chemical and chemical properties of some
coconut coir dusts for use as a peat substitute for containerised
ornamental plants. Bioresource Technology 82(3): 241-245.
Ayesha, R., Fatima, N., Ruqayya, M., Qureshi, K.M., Haz,
I.A., Khan, K.S. & Kamal, A. 2011. Inuence of different
growth media on the fruit quality and reproductive growth
parameters of strawberry (Fragaria ananassa). Journal of
Medicinal Plants Research 5(26): 6224-6232.
Bagci, S., Cayci, G. & Kütük, C. 2011. Growth of Primula plant
in coir dust and peat-based growing media. Journal of Plant
Nutrition 34: 909-919.
Cho, M.S., Park, Y.Y., Jun, H.J. & Chung, J.B. 2006. Growth
of Gerbera in mixtures of coir dust and perlite. Horticulture
Environment Biotechnology 47(4): 211-216.
Cresswell, G. 2002. Coir Dust a Proven Alternative to Peat.
Cresswell Horticultural Institute. http://www.cocopeat.
com.au/technical/productAnalysis/pdf/Cresswelldoc.pdf.
Accessed on 13 May 2015.
De Boodt, M., Verdonck, O. & Cappaert, I. 1973. Method for
measuring the waterrelease curve of organic substrates. In
I Symposium on Articial Media in Horticulture 37: 2054-
2063.
Erwan, M.R.I., Saud, H.M., Othman, R., Habib, S., Kausar, H. &
Naher, L. 2013. Effect of oil palm frond compost amended
coconut coir dust soilless growing media on growth and
yield of cauliower. International Journal of Agriculture &
Biology 15: 731-736.
Evans, M.R., Konduru, S. & Stamps, R.H. 1996. Source variation
in physical and chemical properties of coconut coir dust.
HortScience 31(6): 965-967.
Evans, M.R. & Stamps, R.H. 1996. Growth of bedding plants
in sphagnum peat and coir dust-based substrates. Journal of
Environment Horticulture 14(4): 187-190.
Fornes, F., Belda, R., Abad, M., Noguera, P., Puchades, R.,
Maquieira, A. & Noguera, V. 2003. The microstructure of
coconut coir dusts for use as alternatives to peat in soilless
growing media. Animal Production Science 43(9): 1171-1179.
Gruda, N., Qaryouti, M.M. & Leonardri, C. 2013. Growing
Media. Chapter 11 In Good Agricultural Practices for
Greenhouse Vegetable Crops - Principles for Mediterranean
Climate Areas. Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO) Plant Production and Protection Paper
217, Rome, Italy. pp. 271-302.
Gruda, N., Prasad, M. & Maher, M.J. 2006. Soilless culture.
In Encyclopedia of Soil Sciences, edited by R.E. Lal. Boca
Raton: Taylor & Francis.
Harding, D.E. & Ross, D.J. 1964. Some factors in low-
temperature storage inuencing the mineralisable-nitrogen
of soils. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture
15(12): 829-834.
Hume, E.P. 1949. Coir dust or cocopeat-a byproduct of the
coconut. Economic Botany 3(1): 42-45.
FIGURE 2. Wettability and standard deviation over time for cocopeat perlite
mixture (3:1). Data are mean ± SD (n=3 samples)

980
Khalaj, M., Amiri, M. & Sindhu, S. 2011. Study on the effect
of different growing media on the growth and yield of
gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii L.). Journal of Ornamental and
Horticultural Plants 1(3): 185-189.
Klute, A. & Dirksen, C. 1986. Hydraulic conductivity and
diffusivity: Laboratory methods. Methods of Soil Analysis:
Part 1. Physical and Mineralogical Methods, edited by A.
Klute. Madison: Soil Science Society of America, American
Society of Agronomy. pp. 687-734.
Londra, P.A. 2010. Simultaneous determination of water retention
curve and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of substrates
using a steady-state laboratory method. HortScience 45(7):
1106-1112.
Mazuela, P., Salas, M.d.C. & Urrestarazu, M. 2005. Vegetable
waste compost as substrate for melon. Communications in
Soil Science and Plant Analysis 36(11-12): 1557-1572.
Meerow, A.W. 1997. Coir dust, a viable alternative to peat moss.
Greenhouse Prod. News (Jan) 1: 17-21.
Mobini, S.H., Ismail, M.R. & Arouiee, H. 2009. Inuence of
ventilation and media on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)
tuberization and its growth characteristics. African Journal
of Biotechnology 8(10): 2232-2241.
Noguera, P., Abad, M., Puchades, R., Maquieira, A. & Noguera,
V. 2003. Inuence of particle size on physical and chemical
properties of coconut coir dust as container medium.
Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 34(3-
4): 593-605.
Quintero, M.F., González-Murillo, C.A., Flórez, V.J. & Guzmán,
J.M. 2008. Physical evaluation of four substrates for cut-rose
crops. International Symposium on Soilless Culture and
Hydroponics 843: 349-358.
Quintero, M., Gonzalez, C. & Florez-Roncancio, V. 2006.
Physical and hydraulic properties of four substrates used
in the cut-ower industry in Colombia. In III International
Symposium on Models for Plant Growth, Environmental
Control and Farm Management in Protected Cultivation
718: 499-506.
Raviv, M., Lieth, J.H., Burger, D.W. & Wallach, R. 2001.
Optimization of transpiration and potential growth rates of
Kardinal’Rose with respect to root-zone physical properties.
Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science
126(5): 638-643.
Rubio, J.S., Pereira, W.E., Garcia-Sanchez, F., Murillo, L.,
García, A.L. & Martínez, V. 2011. Sweet pepper production in
substrate in response to salinity, nutrient solution management
and training system. Horticultura Brasileira 29(3): 275-281.
Scagel, C.F. 2003. Growth and nutrient use of ericaceous plants
grown in media amended with sphagnum moss peat or coir
dust. HortScience 38(1): 46-54.
Shinohara, Y., Hata, T., Maruo, T., Hohjo, M. & Ito, T. 1999.
Chemical and physical properties of the coconut-fiber
substrate and the growth and productivity of tomato
(Lycopercicon esculentum Mill.) plants. Acta Horticulturae
481: 145-150.
Sudhagar, R. & Sekar, K. 2009. Effect of coco peat medium on
growth and quality of poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima
Willd.). Asian Journal of Horticulture 4(1): 52-56.
Tariq, U., Rehman, S.U., Khan, M.A., Younis, A., Yaseen, M. &
Ahsan, M. 2012. Agricultural and municipal waste as potting
media components for the growth and owering of Dahlia
hortensis ‘Figaro’. Turkish Journal of Botany 36(4): 378-385.
Tehranifar, A., Poostchi, M., Arooei, H. & Nematti, H. 2007.
Effects of seven substrates on qualitative and quantitative
characteristics of three strawberry cultivars under soilless
culture. Acta Horticulturae 761: 485-488.
Urrestarazu, M., Guillén, C., Mazuela, P.C. & Carrasco, G. 2008.
Wetting agent effect on physical properties of new and reused
rockwool and coconut coir waste. Scientia Horticulturae
116(1): 104-108.
Yahya, A., Shaharom, A.S., Mohamad, R. & Selamat, A.
2009. Chemical and physical characteristics of cocopeat-
based media mixtures and their effects on the growth and
development of Celosia cristata. American Journal of
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 4(1): 63-71.
Wan Fazilah Fazlil Ilahi*
Department of Agricultural Technology
Faculty of Agriculture
Universiti Putra Malaysia
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia
Desa Ahmad
Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Universiti Putra Malaysia
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia
*Corresponding author; email: zahilah36@yahoo.com
Received: 20 October 2015
Accepted: 18 November 2016