Abstract

PIRE, Reinaldo  and  PEREIRA, Aracelys. Propiedades físicas de componentes de sustratos de uso común en la horticultura del estado lara, Venezuela. propuesta metodológica. Bioagro [online]. 2003, vol.15, n.1, pp.55-64. ISSN 1316-3361.

Physical characteristics of six horticultural substrate components that are commonly used in Lara State, Venezuela, were evaluated using a set of porometers built following specifications of the University of Florida and the International Society for Horticultural Science. The components were coir fiber, coir dust, rice hulls, sugarcane waste pulp, fine sand and mineral soil. The organic components showed high total porosity and low bulk and particle density while the opposite occurred with the soil and sand. Coir dust showed the highest moisture retention but very low air capacity, what suggests that it would require mixing with highly porous materials when used as a substrate component. On the other hand, the use of porometers proved to be a precise, reliable and practical procedure for this kind of determinations.

Keywords : Porometer; substrate component,; water holding capacity; porosity, bulk density.