Urban Ag News proud to feature Dr. Chieri Kubota’s class on Greenhouse Plant Physiology and Technology. Dr. Kubota was a professor at the University of Arizona and has moved to The Ohio State University this summer.
Week 7-1: Plant nutrition
Over the past six weeks, you became familiar with those aerial environments affecting plant growth (photosynthesis and development) and most importantly their interactions in the canopy. This week, we are going to learn plant root zone environments. Lectures cover plant nutrients, irrigation, and substrates. Plant nutrition could be a full 16-week long college course and so in my lecture I only touch the basic part and the key information that directly affect greenhouse plant production. So I hope they serve as a good introduction for you to seek deeper understanding as needed. We will also discuss various horticultural substrates and their physical/chemical properties. Root zone environment is fairly complex, as so many factors are involved. Understanding this complexity is your goal, as well as the fact that substrate culture is made easier to manage by controlled environment.