The knowledge institute for substrates RHP, is supplying various water workshops to its participants. Senior researcher Hans Verhagen, has been doing substrate research for over 25 years and explains the topic "What's in the pores; water or air?". "The most important and surprising conclusion is that water spreads differently in the root clump to what was previously assumed. This necessitates a different manner of measuring water level," according to Verhagen.
“We though that water would always spread completely. But this isn't the case in a limited irrigation. Not even in a coir root clump, a thorough bred water absorber. The water is completely absorbed, but doesn't spread throughout the clump. The crop can therefore be unexpectedly left behind."
In a study with short irrigation of 10 minutes using an ebb and flow system, the under layer absorbed 80% of the water, and only 20% was absorbed by the top layer. "A sensor randomly stuck in the potting soil therefore doesn't give a correct indication. This is why it's important to measure with multiple sensors that are placed in the pot horizontally," emphasises Verhagen.
RHP certified substrates guarantee an optimal start to the cultivation. It offers certainty that the substrate meets the right quality demands concerning water and air levels, pH and EC for instance. The security that the substrate is pure and clean and that there are no risks for a safe application in cultivation. The RHO brand safeguards the quality of cultivation media in the chain, from raw material extraction to processing and delivery to the user at the company.
For more information:
RHP
Galgeweg 38
2691 MG 's-Gravenzande
T: +31 (0)174 62 03 60
F: +31 (0)174 64 04 13
E: info@rhp.nl
www.rhp.nl