Home Garden and Organic Farming

Coco peat or coir pith is an agriculture waste byproduct from a coir industry, used as a soil additive. It contains macro and micronutrients, natural enzymes, and helps to improve soil aeration, improve soil structure. Coco peat is mainly used as a lightweight growing medium for the germination of seeds. Processed coco peat used as a compost for growing plants. It absorbs water up to eight times its weight.           About 180 grams of coir pith is obtained from the husk of one coconut. Coir pith contains C: N in the ratio of 112:1 and it also contains lignin (75%) which does not permit natural composting as in other agricultural wastes. Mushroom pleurotus has the capacity to degrade the lignin present in the coir pith by producing enzymes like cellulases and lactases. The C: N ratio is reduced to 24:1 from 112:1 at the end of composting. Coco peat for germination of seeds Composting method: Follow this simple composting method for large-scale production of cocopeat composti

In the US chrysanthemum is the No.1 dollar earning flower. Small-flowered types are used in garland making. Soil: It has a shallow, fibrous root system that is sensitive to waterlogging and prone to attack by root rot and wilt if there is no aeration. Sandy loam soil is much desirable since they retain sufficient moisture and provides good aeration. Climate: In general its a short day plant but it requires high light intensity and if reduced light is there the plants become taller with thin stems and large leaves. Insufficient light results in pale leaves and delayed flowering. For balanced root and shoot growth the optimum air and soil temperature are 16 ° c and 18-21 ° c respectively. At day and night temperatures of 22 °c  and 16 °, c respectively chrysanthemum plants produced the best overall growth. Propagation: Chrysanthemum plants are propagated by both vegetative and sexual methods. Vegetative methods include both cuttings and suckers. But cuttings are the most com

Any potting media for growing plants will generally consist of 2-3 types of components. The first is organic plant-derived materials like peat moss, leaf mold, bark these are absorbing the water very well, and also nutrient holding capacity will be great. The second component is called the coarse aggregates like sand, perlite, vermiculite, charcoal these are improving the drainage of the medium because of the shape of each particle creates large pore spaces it makes easier the flow of air. A third component is soil it is used to hold and supply the nutrients, such as loamy soil, clay soil, sandy soil are most commonly used in many potting media. Organic plant-derived materials:   Peat moss is the main ingredient for many potting mixtures for houseplants. Sometimes it is used alone for air layering and rooting, cuttings. Having very good water holding capacity proving an ideal combination of moisture and air. Leaf mold is the second possible component after peat moss in many ho

Black Spot disease of rose plant:  Circular black spots appear generally on the upper sides of the leaves. These black spots are surrounded by a yellow halo, then affected leaves are turning yellow in color. These black spots are spread by splashing water on leaves. Infection occurs after leaves are wet for several hours, seen most commonly during the rainy days. How to Control black spots on a rose?   Begin with a thorough cleanup in the fall. Diseased leaves on the ground should be raked and destroyed and all the disease canes should be pruned off by several inches into good wood. Black spot disease in rose plant Affected leaves Powdery Mildew disease of rose plant:   This can cause young leaves to curl and turn purple. The white fuzzy growth seen on the surface of the leaves, this fuzzy growth contains thousand of fungal spores. The wind carries these spores to young leaves, causing more infection. Powdery mildew disease in rose plant How to control