Stratified Substrates Can Reduce Peat Use and Improve Root Productivity in Container Production

Peat use in horticulture continues to be scrutinized as consumers are becom-ing increasingly aware of the environmental sustainability concerns associated with peat. Thus, the horticultural industry is driven to search for peat alternatives. Sub-strate stratification (i.e., vertical layering of unique media atop another in a singular container) has been studied in nursery substrates and has demonstrated improved re-source efficiency with regard to water and fertilizer inputs. However, minimal re-search has evaluated using the concept of stratified substrates as an attempt to reduce peat inputs in greenhouse production. Hence, the objective of this study was to iden-tify if stratifying costly floriculture media atop of low-cost pine bark can reduce peat use, reliance, and cost within the floriculture industry. A floriculture crop, Petunia hy-brid 'Supertunia Honey', was grown in two distinct substrate treatments: 1) nonstra-tified (commercial peat-based floriculture substrate) and 2) stratified peat-based substrate layered atop aged pine bark (1:1 by volume) under two different irrigation schedules. Crop growth was evaluated, including growth indices, shoot physiological responses, and root growth measurements. Substrate hydraulic properties such as matric potential and volumetric water content were monitored over time. The results demonstrated that a petunia crop can be produced in stratified substrate systems and yield similarly sized and quality crops as traditionally grown plants. Furthermore, the stratified substrate-produced crop had improved root productivity, yet less bloom, when compared with nonstratified-grown crops.