Research activities

Research will be conducted across four stages.

Stage one of the project will be focused on defining the characteristics of alternate substrates, including pathogen load and physical characteristics, and whether it is feasible to use these materials in commercial horticultural production.

Stage two of the project will involve small-scale trials with spent coir and the alternative substrates identified in stage one, to formulate a mixed substrate that produces yields comparable to current practices.

Stage three of the project will trial the mixed substrate identified in the previous stage of the project within industry partner’s production systems on a commercial scale.

Stage four of the project will involve a thorough economic analysis to compare overall production costs between new coir and the mixed substrate, using the trial data collected in earlier stages.

Learnings from each stage will inform the design of activities in subsequent stages.

 

This project has been supported by the Tasmanian Government through the Agricultural Development Fund.