A comparison of growth media on cyclamens in a controlled environment

Abstract

Cyclamens are deemed an essential cold season crop for supplementing the income of commercial growers during winter. However, cyclamens have the reputation of being a demanding commercial crop mainly due to difficulty in successful crop cultivation, lengthy production time and production costs. The economic and environmental landscape in South Africa dictates that careful consideration be given to reducing production time and costs, but still improving the quality of the commercial crop for market readiness. Growth medium are considered an important factor contributing significantly to the quality of commercially grown container cyclamens in a controlled environment. The focus of this study was on establishing the most suitable growth medium for commercially grown cyclamens in a South African environment in order to improve the quality of the commercial crop. Only one F1 variety of cyclamen was used as the sample population with a sample size of five plants per growth medium mixture planted according to a randomised block design in a specified area within a greenhouse. Seven commercially available growth medium mixtures, five locally available and two imported, were subjected to a typical production cycle of commercial cyclamens in a controlled greenhouse. The growth medium mixtures for comparison were Cyclamen Mix; 45 Mix; 50% Cyclamen Mix - 50% 45 Mix; 49 Mix; 7 Mix; coarse coir; Klasmann base 4 Substrate mix . The measuring instrument used in the study was adapted from existing instruments used in the comparison of cyclamens and growth medium. It included various measurements and observations: Plant height, plant diameter, plant weight, number of leaves, leaf width, foliage fresh weight, number of flowers, diameter of tuber and root fresh weight. The results obtained in the comparison determine the most suitable growth medium for container cyclamens for South African circumstances. The physical properties of peat retain water for a longer time which is beneficial for the production of container cyclamen. The results of this study therefore indicate that growth mediums containing peat performed better than mediums containing no peat.