Calcium silicate (wollastonite) in soilless crops
Silicon in media is not a magic switch. In soilless systems it can help, it can do nothing, and at the wrong rate or pH it can hurt. Calcium silicate…
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Calcium Thiosulfate as a Nitrate-Free Calcium Source in Soilless Culture
Growers often supply calcium (Ca) with calcium nitrate, but that introduces unwanted nitrogen (N). To achieve a 0% N finish in a hydroponic or soilless system (for instance to reduce…
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A low cost DIY oil IPM for your crops
An emulsified vegetable oil spray can smother mites and soft-bodied insects and can suppress powdery mildew if you actually coat the target. Soybean oil has the strongest evidence. Corn oil…
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Coco Coir vs Rockwool in Soilless Crops
Choosing the right substrate is critical in greenhouse hydroponics. Coconut coir (coco peat) has become a renewable alternative to rockwool, and recent studies show it can match or exceed rockwool…
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Recent advances in hydroponic cucumber cultivation: media, irrigation, nutrition and biostimulants
Cucumber has become a model crop for testing new soilless technologies, with greenhouses adopting alternative substrates, precision fertigation and biostimulants. Over the last decade a series of peer-reviewed studies have…
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Foliar Calcium in Hydroponics
Calcium is essential yet poorly mobile in plants. Young leaves and fruit can go deficient even when solution Ca is adequate, because Ca rides the transpiration stream and is not…
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Do oil-producing crops need extra manganese or just enough?
Manganese is a workhorse micronutrient in plants. It is central to photosystem II, essential for the water splitting chemistry, and a cofactor for several enzymes. Given its importance, plants that…
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Moringa extract as a biostimulant in hydroponics
Moringa leaf extract (MLE) is a rather recent addition to the biostimulant market. Below I focus on peer-reviewed work in hydroponic or soilless systems, with attention to yield, quality, toxicity,…
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Exogenous Root Applications of Wetting Agents in Soilless Media
Introduction Dry peat, coir, rockwool or bark mixes can become water repellent, which creates uneven moisture and nutrient delivery around roots. Wetting agents reduce surface tension and restore wettability by…
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Root-applied auxins in hydroponics: where they help, where they don’t
Introduction Auxins can modulate root architecture, fruiting and stress responses. In hydroponic and substrate soilless systems, exogenous root-zone applications at very low ppm sometimes boost yield or quality. Push the…
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