Article taken from Horticulture Week Magazine
With an exciting new coir based growing media product on the horizon for the soft fruit industry, Botanicoir is showcasing some pre-launch highlights.
""We are very excited about the new fourth generation buffered coir substrate for the soft-fruit industry,” says Botanicoir managing director Kalum Balasuriya.
“We are just about to launch this revolutionary product and are confident that growers will have the option of further longevity without compromising performance.""
Due to come to market for the late 2016 / early 2017 season, the new product promises to take coir quality and consistency to a new level, with incredible rehydration speeds.
“There is no wetting agent required, saving growers time and money and the fast capillary action ensures consistency in the amount of water and nutrients moving through the slab, giving plants a consistent growing environment.
“It’s incredibly free draining compared to other available coir substrates, as well as being high in calcium.”
Commenting on the wider market conditions, Kalum says that global demand for coir substrates is on the up as more countries and crops move into substrate production. “As an industry the challenge is to manage the peak demand periods.”
Long term, coconut production area is such that supply should not be a problem, but the worry will be short term if manufacturing capacity does not keep up with spikes in demand from areas such as the USA, as they enter the arena. Mark Davies, commercial head of fruit at Agrovista adds that UK growers continue to lead the way in soft fruit substrate production. “Overseas visitors see Botanicoir in action here in the UK are now taking product in many other countries. It’s something that our UK growers and agronomists should be rightly proud of,” he says.
With an exciting new coir based growing media product on the horizon for the soft fruit industry, Botanicoir is showcasing some pre-launch highlights.
""We are very excited about the new fourth generation buffered coir substrate for the soft-fruit industry,” says Botanicoir managing director Kalum Balasuriya.
“We are just about to launch this revolutionary product and are confident that growers will have the option of further longevity without compromising performance.""
Due to come to market for the late 2016 / early 2017 season, the new product promises to take coir quality and consistency to a new level, with incredible rehydration speeds.
“There is no wetting agent required, saving growers time and money and the fast capillary action ensures consistency in the amount of water and nutrients moving through the slab, giving plants a consistent growing environment.
“It’s incredibly free draining compared to other available coir substrates, as well as being high in calcium.”
Commenting on the wider market conditions, Kalum says that global demand for coir substrates is on the up as more countries and crops move into substrate production. “As an industry the challenge is to manage the peak demand periods.”
Long term, coconut production area is such that supply should not be a problem, but the worry will be short term if manufacturing capacity does not keep up with spikes in demand from areas such as the USA, as they enter the arena. Mark Davies, commercial head of fruit at Agrovista adds that UK growers continue to lead the way in soft fruit substrate production. “Overseas visitors see Botanicoir in action here in the UK are now taking product in many other countries. It’s something that our UK growers and agronomists should be rightly proud of,” he says.