Development and Validation of Alternative Palm-Derived Substrates for Seedling Production

The constraints associated with peat use in horticulture has led to a search for alternative materials their as growing media. organic derived from palm trees (composted or not) can constitute an due ligneous and fibrous character, similar coir fiber. This work studies the feasibility of using several palm-tree-derived (Phoenix dactylifera L.) media ingredients transplant production lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. Senna). For this, following substrates were studied: five mixtures each palm-derived material (palm trunks leaves composts trunk leaves), proportions 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, 100% by volume, mixed Coir fiber at proportion was used control treatment. Physical, physico-chemical, chemical analyses conducted on substrates, germination morphological parameters seedlings examined. Chemometric tools, such random forest (RF) hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) also evaluate data obtained. type principally affected studied seedlings. percentage compost lower than 60% showed behavior closer that observed mixture all proportions.