• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.190-194
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• 2003

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of several subtrates on the growth of cucumber and tomato seedlings. Cucumber and tomato seeds were sown in plug trays that were filled with eight differenct kinds of substrates. One of them was filled with recycled rockwool by 100%. The other six were mixed with used rockwool media:several ratios of recycled rockwool+peatmoss (1:1, 1:2, 1:3, v/v) and recycled rockwool+chestnut wood ships (1:1, 1:2, 1:3, v/v), and the last was 100% chestnut wood chips. The growth of cucumber and tomato seedlingsin 72 plug tray was better in recycled rockwool+peatmoss (1:2, v/v) substrates that the others tested. CEC 9cation exchange capacity) and EC was a little higher in mixed substrates that blended with organic media. But 100% chestnut wood chips and mixed ones with recycled rockwool inhibited severely the growth of seedlings, especially in tomatos. Therefore, it is suggested that the recycled rockwool be capable of utilization to raise seedlings of cucumber and tomato.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.160-165
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• 2003

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of several substrates; used rockwool, several spent mushroom composts, and common used media, such as rockwool and vermiculite, on growth and fruit quality of cucumber. Cucumber grew dramatically in the rockwool+peatmoss (1:2 v/v) (RP) and fine granular rockwool in hydroponic system using Yamaztiki's solution for cucumbers. The yield of cucumber fruit was highest in recycled winter mushroom compost (RW), and followed by 100% perlite (Par), recycled oyster mushroom compost (RO), and RR but there was no significant difference among these three media. Soluble solid and firmness were higher in Per and vermiculite (Ver), and any difference was not found among the others. Vitamin C was not influenced by kind of substrate. The results confirm that several reused or recycled substrates have high possibilities for use as medium for hydroponic culture in cucumber.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.523-528
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• 2000

Plug seedlings of Petunia hybrida 'Madness Rose' and Viola tricolor 'Magestic GT' were cultured in media containing various volume ratios of recycled plug medium, recycled coir, perlite, granular rockwool, and vermiculite for 36 and 43 days after sowing, respectively. Recycled plug medium and recycled coir were steam pasteurized for 30 minutes at $120^{\circ}C$ and 1.5 atmosphere. An unused commercial plug medium (Tosilee, pH 5.10, EC $0.12mS{\cdot}cm^{-1}$ at 1:5 dilution, v/v, Shinan Grow Co.) was used as the control. The pH of different media before and after growing seedlings was similar. Medium EC was high when recycled plug medium was included. Recycled coir (75%)＋vermiculite (25%) mixture also had high medium EC. However, medium EC was low when granular rockwool or perlite was included. Height, root formation, shoot dry weight and leaf count (ea) of petunia, and height, total fresh and dry weights, and shoot fresh and root dry weights of pansy were the highest in recycled coir (75%)＋perlite (25%) mixture. Recycled coir was better than recycled plug medium in physicochemical properties, and also in resultant plant growth. It is recommended to include perlite or granular rockwool when plug media including recycled horticultural media are prepared.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2000

This study was conducted in an effort to meet the need for domestic production of hydroponic media and for medium development using recycled hydroponic rockwool slabs. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the growth of plug seedlings of petunia 'Romeo' in various mixtures including particles of used rockwool slabs (rockwool particles) and wood chips. In the first experiment, seedlings were grown in plugs filled with mixtures of steam- sterilized rockwool particles and chestnut wood chips, which had been weathered for six months and screened through either 2.8 mm or 5.6 mm sieve, at the mixing ratio of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, or 0:100 (v/v). In the second experiment, seedlings were grown in plugs filled with twenty different mixtures of steam-sterilized particles of used hydroponic rockwool slabs with 4 mm chestnut or pine wood chips, coir, peatmoss, or perlite. In the first experiment seedling growth was not affected by particle size of chestnut wood chips, was superior in the control (commercial plug medium) and in 100% rockwool particles, but was suppressed as mixing ratio of chestnut wood chips increased. In the second experiment, leaf length, and shoot fresh and dry weights were the greatest in rockwool particles+peatmoss+coir treatment, followed by rockwool particles+peatmoss treatment. Leaf length was suppressed as ratio of wood chips increased, especially of chestnut wood chips. Root development was the greatest in rockwool particles+peatmoss+perlite treatment, followed by the control, and rockwool particles+peatmoss+coir treatment. The growth was suppressed as the mixing ratio of rockwool particles, peatmoss, or coir decreased.

• The Journal of Natural Sciences
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.131-135
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• 1999

The objective of this research was to improve moisture retention capacity of pine bark. To achieve this, barks were ground with Wiley mill of hammer mill and were blended with recycled rockwool. Then, changes of soil physical properties were determined. The percentage of particles larger than 5.6 mm was 86.5% in raw materials. The percentage of particles larger than 1 mm decreased and those of particles smaller than 1 mm increased by grinding with Wiley mill or hammer mill. Grinding with Wiley mill showed better effect than those of hammer mill in decreasing particle size distribution. Grinding resulted in decreased total porosity (TP) and air space (AS) and increased container capacity (CC) and residual water content (RW), indication improved moisture retention capacity. The material ground with Wiley mill, than blended with 50% recycled rockwool had 81.1%, 67.7%, 13.5% and 235 ml in TP, CC, AS and RW, respectively. These results indicated that moisture retention capacity was improved by blending with recycled rockwood, but aeration of root media was much better than those of peat+vermiculite(1:1, v/v), which is commonly used in commercial production.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.183-189
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• 2018

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of plant growth and production of tomato (Lycopersicon Esculentum Mill cv. Tefunis) according to the water content of non-recycled rockwool culture in high-rise tomato greenhouse. Daily irrigation amount was 3.8 times higher in the irrigation control by Integrated Solar Radiation (ISR) than in the Frequency Domain Reflectometry (FDR) sensor. Water content of ISR and FDR was 90-95 and 60-65%, respectively. Plant height and weight of tomato fruit was 1.2-1.9 times longer and 1.2-2.0 times heavier in the ISR than in the FDR sensor, respectively. No significantly differed to sugar content of tomato by treatments. Marketable fruits were the higher 1.3 times in the ISR compared with the FDR sensor. Cracking percentage in the ISR was also the higher 2.0 times compared with FDR sensor. Therefore, Irrigation control by ISR was appropriate to improve of plant growth and production of tomato with non-recycled rockwool culture in greenhouse during long-term cultivation.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.239-243
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• 2006

This research compared growth and flowering of potted $Viola{\times}wittrockiana$ 'Majestic GT Scarlet Shadow' in various mixtures of recycled perlite and cellular glass foam (CGF). The crop was cultured in a mat subirrigation system. Numbers of leaves, opened flowers, flower buds, and branches, fresh and dry weights of shoot, leaf area, and total chlorophyll concentration were the greatest in plants grown in the medium of used perlite + granular rockwool+ peatmoss (25:50:25, v/v/v). Plant height and length of the longest root were the highest and longest, respectively, in plants grown in the medium of CGF+peatmoss (25:75, v/v). The medium of CGF+peatmoss (25:75, v/v) was better than the medium of used perlite+peatmoss (25:75, v/v) in plant growth. The medium of CGF + granular rockwool (25:75, v/v) was poorer than the medium of recycled perlite + granular rockwool (25:75, v/v).

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.463-472
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• 2014

Ion imbalance in recycled nutrient solutions is caused by selective ion uptake of plants, which occurs at different rates in different growth stages. The objectives of this study were to investigate the ion balances in both recycled nutrient solutions and rockwool media using different renewal patterns for the nutrient solutions, and to analyze the subsequent effects on uptake of water and nutrients. Over 12 weeks of paprika cultivation, two different renewal patterns (week units) of 6-4-2 and 8-2-2 weeks were compared with a constant renewal pattern of 4-4-4 weeks (control). The nutrient solution in the reservoir tank was constantly maintained at EC $2.5dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ and pH 5.5-6.5. The changes in the ion balance with the 4-4-4 week pattern were smaller than those with the other treatments. In the early growth stage, however, the ion balances similarly changed among all treatments. Greater changes were subsequently observed for the 6-4-2 week pattern. Although fruit yield and shoot fresh weight of paprika were the lowest with 6-4-2 renewal pattern, no significant differences were observed. Our results indicate that renewal intervals can be extended in consideration of growth stage for more efficient and practical operations in closed soilless cultures.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.71-77
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• 1998

The root-zone environment is an important factor to the plant growth and it is closely related to the thermal characteristics of the root media. In this study thermal characteristics of root media with ambient environmental conditions were analyzed. The temperatures of nutrient solution as well as inside air of culture bed were measured in Nutrient Film Technique(NFT) and Deep Flow Technique(DFT) systems, and also the temperatures of root media measured in aggregate culture systems , The temperature of nutrient solution of NFT system with as low as 3$\ell$/min of flow rate was 3$^{\circ}C$ higher than that with 5 $\ell$/min of flow rate in the daytime, and the temperature of inside air was 2$^{\circ}C$ higher at night. And the temperature of nutrient solution of DFT system with as low as 0.8 cm of water level was 1-2$^{\circ}C$ higher than that with 1 8 cm in the daytime, and the temperature of inside air was almost same at night. The root-zone temperatures in the perlite and rockwool granulate systems with film mulching were 3$^{\circ}C$ higher than those without film mulching in the daytime. However, the rockwool slab system with film mulching showed the same trend as rockwool granulate system, but relatively higher temperature than any other medium because of the exposure of media surface to the ambient air. Additionally the temperature below the plant was measured 3$^{\circ}C$ lower than that between plants.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.423-428
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• 2013

Although closed soilless culture is useful for saving water and fertilizers with minimizing environmental pollution, adequate management of nutrient solutions is still not stabilized in greenhouse cultivation. In order to investigate the problems occurred in closed soilless culture of Paprika (Capsicum annuum L., cv. Fiesta), we compared ion balance, fruit yield, and the water and fertilizer use efficiencies in the closed system with those in the open system. The plants were grown in rockwool culture with a nutrient solution of EC $2.5dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$. After 4 weeks of treatment, individual ratio of $NO{_3}^-$, $K^+$, $Ca^{2+}$, and $Mg^{2+}$ to total ion concentrations ($meq{\cdot}L^{-1}$) decreased from the initial value, especially the biggest decrement was observed in $K^+$, and on the other hand, $SO{_4}^{2-}$, $Cl^-$, and $Na^+$ were accumulated in the closed system. Yields after four-time harvests were 19% higher in the open system than in the closed system. Total volume of water used per unit area ($m^2$) in the open system was 20% higher, but the total water use per fruit was not significantly different between the two systems, while t total fertilizer use per fruit was 78% higher in the closed system. Amount of marketable fruits was not significantly different between the two systems. We concluded that the increase in $K^+$ supply and the replenishment of recycled nutrient solution every four weeks were required for preventing the imbalance or depletion of nutrients in the close soilless culture of paprika plants to get more balanced nutrient composition during whole cultivation period.