We report the results of a research carried out in Turkey in 2004 to determine the effectiveness of different levels of pumice amendments to soil using strawberry plants. Two grades (2-4 mm and 4-8 mm) of pumice were added to soil and three amendment levels (15%, 30% and 45% by volume) were applied. Finally 6 different growing media types were formulated. The amount of moisture retained at different tensions and distribution of pore size of these growing media were determined. Some plant properties such as the number of leaves, leaf area, fresh and dry root weight, most developed root length and increasing fresh weight of day-notr strawberry plants cv. Fern grown on these media were determined. The best plant growth was observed on media including 4-8 mm pumice grade and 45% pumice amendment ratio with soil

Ahmet ESITKEN

Omer ANAPALI

Selda ORS

Sezai ERCISLI

Ustun SAHIN

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ORIGINAL PAPER361 Volume 6 (2005) No. 3 (361-366)EFFECT OF PUMICE AMENDMENT ON PHYSICAL SOIL PROPERTIES AND STRAWBERRY PLANT GROWTHUstun  SAHIN1,* Selda ORS1, Sezai ERCISLI2, Omer ANAPALI1, Ahmet ESITKEN21Atatürk University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Structures and Irrigation, 25240, Erzurum-Turkey*E-mail: ussahin@atauni.edu.tr or ussahin@yahoo.com, Tel: +90 442 231 2619, Fax: +90 442 236 09582Atatürk University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, 25240, Erzurum-TurkeyManuscript received: April 21, 2005; Reviewed: May 17, 2005; Accepted for publication: July 14, 2005ABSTRACTWe report the results of a research carried out in Turkey in 2004 to determine the effectiveness of different levels of pumice amendments to soil using strawberry plants.  Two grades (2-4 mm and 4-8 mm) of pumice were added to soil and three amendment levels (15%, 30% and 45% by volume) were applied. Finally 6 different growing media types were formulated. The amount of moisture retained at different tensions and distribution of pore size of these growing media were determined. Some plant properties such as the number of leaves, leaf area, fresh and dry root weight, most developed root length and increasing fresh weight of day-notr strawberry plants cv. Fern grown on these media were determined. The best plant growth was observed on media including 4-8 mm pumice grade and 45% pumice amendment ratio with soil.KEYWORDS: Pore size distribution; soil-pumice mixture media; strawberry plant growth; water retention362 Journal of Central European Agriculture Vol 6 (2005) No 3Ustun  SAHIN, Selda ORS, Sezai ERCISLI, Omer ANAPALI, Ahmet ESITKENINTRODUCTIONThe production of greenhouse crops involves a number of cultural inputs. Among these, perhaps the most important is the type of growing media used. Due to the relatively shallow depth and limited volume of a container, growing media  must  be  amended  to  provide  the  appropriate physical  and  chemical  properties  necessary  for  plant growth [17].The  most  important  physical  properties  of  a  growing media for suitability are good aeration and drainage, and optimum water retention capacity [2]. To improve the physical properties of soils and promote plant growth, soil conditioners can be used [12]. Soil amends have been suggested for use in soils to alleviate soil compaction, increase available water and aeration. Soil compaction changes  porosity  by  generally  reducing  total  porosity and  macropore  space  and  increasing  micropore  space. The relative balance of air and water within a soil’s pore space is critical to plant growth [1, 3]. Porosity can be functionally  divided  into  three  parts  -  total  porosity, aeration porosity (macropores) and water holding porosity (micropores) [11]. The macropores (>100 μm diameter) supply drainage and aeration, the mesopores (100-30 μm diameter) supply water conductivity, and the micropores (30-3  μm  diameter)  supply  water  retention  [7].  The water retained in ultramicropores (<3 μm diameter) is unavailable for plant use [6]. The porosity is generally determining  the  shape  of  the  moisture  characteristics curve (pF curve) which reﬂ  ects pore size distribution [13, 14, 15, 16].Pumice has been used to a large extent as a plant growing media  and  it  lightens  the  soil,  makes  tillage  easier, improves soil aeration and holds water. Pumice mixed with soil in speciﬁ  c amounts improves soil’s air and water conductivity,  and  reduces  negative  effects  of  crusting, cracking, ﬂ  ooding, and shrink-swelling. It can also be used for a long periods because of its stable physical and chemical properties [8] and it can be provided easily since there are many pumice deposits distributed around the world [18]. Pumice used only after sieving has a high water retention capacity, and very low bulk density value compared to soil [16]. The growing healthy and the best quality seedlings is an important issue in strawberry production. This is possible if  used  suitable  growing  media  [9].  The  practice  of adding amendments to growing media goes back years. The effectiveness of pumice amendments does not seem to have been studied before, particularly in strawberry plants.The aim of the present investigation was to determine whether pumice amendments to soil could improve both soil properties and strawberry plant growth.Materials and MethodsThe day-notr strawberry cv. Fern cold-stored seedlings were planted directly in 3 liter plastic bags ﬁ  lled with mixture of soil (S) and pumice (P). The characteristics of pumice and soil used are given in Table 1. Two grades (2-4 mm and 4-8 mm) of pumice and three amendment levels (15%, 30% and 45% by volume) were applied. Finally 6 different growing media were formulated and 100% soil used as control. The distribution of particle size of control is given in Fig. 1. The treatments were as follow;85% S + 15% P-1  (I)    S:Soil70% S + 30% P-1  (II)    P:Pumice55% S + 45% P-1  (III)    P-1: Pumice with 2-4 mm grade85% S + 15% P-2  (IV)    P-2: Pumice with 4-8 mm grade70% S + 30% P-2  (V)55% S + 45% P-2   (VI)100% S    (VII)The amount of moisture the media retained in different tensions (pF 1, pF 2, pF 2.52, pF 3, and pF 4.18) was determined by a pressure membrane [10]. Porosity was estimated by calculation [4].Plants were planted into plastic bags on 13 March 2004 and plastic bags were kept under greenhouse temperature regime  of  25/20  °C  day/night  respectively.  The  daily nutrient solution prepared according to Day [5]. After 4.5 months growing period, each plant was uprooted and evaluated in terms of the numbers of leaves, leaf area, length of the most developed roots, fresh root weight, dry root weight and increasing fresh weight. The experiment design was of a completely randomized design  with  three  replicates  including  ten  plants  per replicate. Analysis  of  variance  (ANOVA)  for  the  data of  pore  size  distribution,  amounts  of  moisture  retain in  different  tensions  and  plant  growth,  and  Duncan’s multiple range tests were used for important treatments.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONThe amounts of moisture retain in different tensions (Pv) and pore size distribution (%) of the 6 different media are given in Table 2. The amount of moisture retained at < 0.98 kPa increased with  increasing  pumice  amendments  in  both  pumice grade  statistically  important  level  (p<0.01).  30%  and more pumice amendment ratio increased water retention capacity as compared to control (p<0.01). 30% and 45% pumice amendments ratio were also increased the amount of macropores which supply both drainage and aeration when compared to control (p<0.01). However, micropores EFFECT OF PUMICE AMENDMENT ON PHYSICAL SOIL PROPERTIES AND STRAWBERRY PLANT GROWTH363 J. Cent. Eur. Agric. (2005) 6:3, 361-366Properties  Soil  Pumice Clay (%)  18.9  - Silt (%)  37.2  - Sand (%)  43.9  - Bulk density (g cm-3) 1.12  0.38 (for 2-4 mm) 0.44 (for 4-8 mm) Particle density (g cm-3) 2.65  2.24 pH   8.21  8.40 Electrical conductivity (dS m-1)  0.29  0.11 Carbonates (%)  0.86  0.80 Organic matter (%)  0.57  - Table 1. Some physical and chemical properties of soil and pumice usedMoisture Tension (kPa)  Pore size (µm)  Media 0.0-0.98  0.98-9.81  9.81-32.36  32.36-1471.0  >100  100-30  30-3  <3 I  23.18c  9.39  4.63  10.25a  28.96c  3.61  10.65a  16.14 II  28.39b  8.81  4.50  9.67ab  33.99b  3.21  9.88ab  15.41 III  34.91a  9.74  3.94  8.32c  41.20a  3.45  7.87ab  15.21 IV  23.87c  8.88  4.27  10.27a  29.48c  3.27  9.83ab  16.77 V  27.97b  10.03  3.26  8.91bc  34.21b  3.79  8.37ab  15.74 VI  34.18a  8.19  2.84  9.39abc  39.95a  2.92  7.19b  15.69 VII  21.83c  8.92  4.39  9.73ab  27.11c  3.64  10.41a  16.45 LSD0.01  2.51  NS*  NS  1.10&  2.27  NS  2.54  NS Table 2. The Amount of Moisture Retained in Different Tensions (Pv) and Pore Size Distribution (%) of media*Non signiﬁ  cant&P < 0.05364 Journal of Central European Agriculture Vol 6 (2005) No 3Ustun  SAHIN, Selda ORS, Sezai ERCISLI, Omer ANAPALI, Ahmet ESITKENMedia Leafnumber Leaf area (cm2)Length of the most developed roots (cm) Fresh root weight    (g) Dry root weight (g) Increase of fresh weight (%)I  8.61abc  90.05cd  28.17c  16.95cd  3.10c  85.48ab II  9.72abc  100.22c  32.28bc  17.46bcd  3.42bc  95.88ab III  9.42abc  138.50ab  31.56bc  23.26abc  4.70abc  112.08a IV  7.81bc  90.35cd  28.47c  16.72cd  3.30bc  101.90a V  11.61ab  106.29bc  37.03ab  24.12ab  4.78ab  108.18a VI  11.83a  157.04a  40.97a  28.07a  5.41a  118.17a VII  6.44c  60.78d  28.61c  15.99d  3.20bc  59.03b LSD0.01  3.57  35.73  7.76  6.58  1.48  38.15 Table 3. The effect of growing media on some plant properties of strawberry cv. Fern01020304050607080901000 2 4 6 8Sieve sizes, mmPassing, %Figure 1. The aggregate distribution of soilwhich are important for water retention only found less in number VI growing medium than control (Table 2).The number of leaves, leaf area, most developed root length, fresh and dry root weight and increasing fresh weight of strawberry plants were increased at an important level (p<0.01) in 30% and 45 % pumice amendments in 4-8 mm grade compared to control. The highest number of leaves, leaf area, most developed root lengths, fresh and dry root weight and increasing fresh weight were also obtained from 45% pumice amendments in 4-8 mm grade (Table 3).Field soils are generally unsatisfactory for the production of plants in containers. This is primarily because soils do not provide the aeration, drainage and moisture retain in low tensions required [2].Parallel  to  increasing  pumice  amendments  ratio, macropores  and  the  amount  of  water  retained  at  low tensions increased at an important level. This situation effected plant growth positively as well as (Table 2,3).  As a conclusion, pumice amendments to soil increased growth  of  strawberry  plants.  This  is  the  reason  of EFFECT OF PUMICE AMENDMENT ON PHYSICAL SOIL PROPERTIES AND STRAWBERRY PLANT GROWTH365 J. Cent. Eur. Agric. (2005) 6:3, 361-366increasing  level  of  macropores  and  optimum  water retention capacity in pumice amended media [1, 2, 3]. REFERENCES[1]  Brückner  U.,  Physical  properties  of  different potting media and substrate mixtures- especially air-and water capacity, Acta Hort. (1997) 450: 263-270.[2] Cabrera R.I., Fundamentals of container media management,  Part  I,  Physical  Properties,  The  State University  of  New  Jersey  Agricultural  Experiment Station,  http://aesop.rutgers.edu/~Floriculture/publications/physprop.htm, 2003.[3] Caron J., Nkongolo V.K.N., Aeration in growing media:  Recent  developments, Acta  Hort.  (1999)  481: 545-551.[4] Danielson R.E., Sutherland P.L., Porosity, in: Klute A., (Ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1,  Physical and Mineralogical  Methods,    Soil  Sci.  Soc.  of Amer.  Inc. Madison, Wisconsin, 1986,  pp. 443-460.[5] Day D., Growing in Perlite, Grower Digest No: 12, Grower Pub. LTD. London, 1991. [6]  Drzal  M.S.,  Fonteno  W.C.,  Cassel  D.K.,  Pore fraction analysis: A new tool for substrate testing, Acta Hort. (1999) 481: 43-54.[7]  Gemalmaz  E.,  Drainage  Engineering,  Ataturk Univ. Publ. No:746, Erzurum, 1993. [8] Gur K., Zengin M., Uyanoz R., Importance of pumice in agriculture and environment, Proceedings of the I. Isparta Pumice Symposium, 26-28 June, Isparta, 1997, pp. 125-132. [9]  Hancock  J.F.,  Strawberries,  CABI  Publishing, Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8DE, UK, 1999. [10] Klute A., Water Retention : Laboratory Methods, in:  Klute A.  (Ed.),  Methods  of  Soil Analysis,  Part  1, Physical and Mineralogical Methods, Soil Sci. Soc. of Amer. Inc. Madison, Wisconsin, 1986, pp. 635-660.[11] Landis T.D., Containers and Growing Media, Vol 2: The Container Tree Nursery Manuel, Agric. Handbk. 674. Washington, DC:U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 41-85, 1990.  [12] Li D., Joo Y.K., Christians N.E., Minner D.D., Inorganic soil amendment effects on sand-based sports turf media, Crop Sci. (2000) 40: 1121-1125.[13]  Milks  R.R.,  Fonteno  W.C.,  Larson  R.A., Hydrology  of  horticultural  substrates:  I.  Mathematical models  for  moisture  characteristics  of  horticultural container media, J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. (1989)  114(1): 48-52.[14] Orozco R., Gschwander S., Marfà O., Substrate classiﬁ  cation  from  particle  size  analysis,  Acta  Hort. (1997) 450: 397-403.[15]  Sahin  U.,  Anapali  O.,  Ercisli  S.,  Physico-chemical and physical properties of some substrates used in horticulture, Gartenbauwissenschaft (2002) 67(2): 55-60.[16]  Sahin  U.,  Ercisli  S., Anapali  O.,  Esitken A., Regional  distribution  and  some  physico-chemical  and physical properties of some substrates used in horticulture in Turkey, Acta Hort. (2004)  648: 177-183.[17] Sevgican A., Why soilless agriculture. V. Turkey Greenhouse Symposium,  Izmir, 1990.[18] Tuncer G., World pumice reserve and situation and importance of Turkey in production, Proceedings of the I. Isparta Pumice Symposium, 26-28 June, Isparta, 1997, pp. 1-12.

Journal of Central European Agriculture

EFFECT OF PUMICE AMENDMENT ON PHYSICAL SOIL PROPERTIES AND STRAWBERRY PLANT GROWTH

We report the results of a research carried out in Turkey in 2004 to determine the effectiveness of different levels of pumice amendments to soil using strawberry plants. Two grades (2-4 mm and 4-8 mm) of pumice were added to soil and three amendment levels (15%, 30% and 45% by volume) were applied. Finally 6 different growing media types were formulated. The amount of moisture retained at different tensions and distribution of pore size of these growing media were determined. Some plant properties such as the number of leaves, leaf area, fresh and dry root weight,
most developed root length and increasing fresh weight of day-notr strawberry plants cv. Fern grown on these media were determined. The best plant growth was observed on media including 4-8 mm pumice grade and 45% pumice amendment ratio with soil

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ORIGINAL PAPER361Volume 6 (2005) No. 3 (361-366)EFFECT OF PUMICE AMENDMENT ON PHYSICAL SOIL PROPERTIES AND STRAWBERRY PLANT GROWTHUstun  SAHIN1,* Selda ORS1, Sezai ERCISLI2, Omer ANAPALI1, Ahmet ESITKEN21Atatürk University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Structures and Irrigation, 25240, Erzurum-Turkey*E-mail: ussahin@atauni.edu.tr or ussahin@yahoo.com, Tel: +90 442 231 2619, Fax: +90 442 236 09582Atatürk University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, 25240, Erzurum-TurkeyManuscript received: April 21, 2005; Reviewed: May 17, 2005; Accepted for publication: July 14, 2005ABSTRACTWe report the results of a research carried out in Turkey in 2004 to determine the effectiveness of different levels of pumice amendments to soil using strawberry plants.  Two grades (2-4 mm and 4-8 mm) of pumice were added to soil and three amendment levels (15%, 30% and 45% by volume) were applied. Finally 6 different growing media types were formulated. The amount of moisture retained at different tensions and distribution of pore size of these growing media were determined. Some plant properties such as the number of leaves, leaf area, fresh and dry root weight, most developed root length and increasing fresh weight of day-notr strawberry plants cv. Fern grown on these media were determined. The best plant growth was observed on media including 4-8 mm pumice grade and 45% pumice amendment ratio with soil.KEYWORDS: Pore size distribution; soil-pumice mixture media; strawberry plant growth; water retention362 Journal of Central European Agriculture Vol 6 (2005) No 3Ustun  SAHIN, Selda ORS, Sezai ERCISLI, Omer ANAPALI, Ahmet ESITKENINTRODUCTIONThe production of greenhouse crops involves a number of cultural inputs. Among these, perhaps the most important is the type of growing media used. Due to the relatively shallow depth and limited volume of a container, growing media must be amended to provide the appropriate physical and chemical properties necessary for plant growth [17].The most important physical properties of a growing media for suitability are good aeration and drainage, and optimum water retention capacity [2]. To improve the physical properties of soils and promote plant growth, soil conditioners can be used [12]. Soil amends have been suggested for use in soils to alleviate soil compaction, increase available water and aeration. Soil compaction changes porosity by generally reducing total porosity and macropore space and increasing micropore space. The relative balance of air and water within a soil’s pore space is critical to plant growth [1, 3]. Porosity can be functionally divided into three parts - total porosity, aeration porosity (macropores) and water holding porosity (micropores) [11]. The macropores (>100 μm diameter) supply drainage and aeration, the mesopores (100-30 μm diameter) supply water conductivity, and the micropores (30-3 μm diameter) supply water retention [7]. The water retained in ultramicropores (<3 μm diameter) is unavailable for plant use [6]. The porosity is generally determining the shape of the moisture characteristics curve (pF curve) which reﬂ ects pore size distribution [13, 14, 15, 16].Pumice has been used to a large extent as a plant growing media and it lightens the soil, makes tillage easier, improves soil aeration and holds water. Pumice mixed with soil in speciﬁ c amounts improves soil’s air and water conductivity, and reduces negative effects of crusting, cracking, ﬂ ooding, and shrink-swelling. It can also be used for a long periods because of its stable physical and chemical properties [8] and it can be provided easily since there are many pumice deposits distributed around the world [18]. Pumice used only after sieving has a high water retention capacity, and very low bulk density value compared to soil [16]. The growing healthy and the best quality seedlings is an important issue in strawberry production. This is possible if used suitable growing media [9]. The practice of adding amendments to growing media goes back years. The effectiveness of pumice amendments does not seem to have been studied before, particularly in strawberry plants.The aim of the present investigation was to determine whether pumice amendments to soil could improve both soil properties and strawberry plant growth.Materials and MethodsThe day-notr strawberry cv. Fern cold-stored seedlings were planted directly in 3 liter plastic bags ﬁ lled with mixture of soil (S) and pumice (P). The characteristics of pumice and soil used are given in Table 1. Two grades (2-4 mm and 4-8 mm) of pumice and three amendment levels (15%, 30% and 45% by volume) were applied. Finally 6 different growing media were formulated and 100% soil used as control. The distribution of particle size of control is given in Fig. 1. The treatments were as follow;85% S + 15% P-1 (I)  S:Soil70% S + 30% P-1 (II)  P:Pumice55% S + 45% P-1 (III)  P-1: Pumice with 2-4 mm grade85% S + 15% P-2 (IV)  P-2: Pumice with 4-8 mm grade70% S + 30% P-2 (V)55% S + 45% P-2  (VI)100% S  (VII)The amount of moisture the media retained in different tensions (pF 1, pF 2, pF 2.52, pF 3, and pF 4.18) was determined by a pressure membrane [10]. Porosity was estimated by calculation [4].Plants were planted into plastic bags on 13 March 2004 and plastic bags were kept under greenhouse temperature regime of 25/20 °C day/night respectively. The daily nutrient solution prepared according to Day [5]. After 4.5 months growing period, each plant was uprooted and evaluated in terms of the numbers of leaves, leaf area, length of the most developed roots, fresh root weight, dry root weight and increasing fresh weight. The experiment design was of a completely randomized design with three replicates including ten plants per replicate. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the data of pore size distribution, amounts of moisture retain in different tensions and plant growth, and Duncan’s multiple range tests were used for important treatments.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONThe amounts of moisture retain in different tensions (Pv) and pore size distribution (%) of the 6 different media are given in Table 2. The amount of moisture retained at < 0.98 kPa increased with increasing pumice amendments in both pumice grade statistically important level (p<0.01). 30% and more pumice amendment ratio increased water retention capacity as compared to control (p<0.01). 30% and 45% pumice amendments ratio were also increased the amount of macropores which supply both drainage and aeration when compared to control (p<0.01). However, micropores EFFECT OF PUMICE AMENDMENT ON PHYSICAL SOIL PROPERTIES AND STRAWBERRY PLANT GROWTH363J. Cent. Eur. Agric. (2005) 6:3, 361-366Properties Soil Pumice Clay (%) 18.9 - Silt (%) 37.2 - Sand (%) 43.9 - Bulk density (g cm-3) 1.12 0.38 (for 2-4 mm) 0.44 (for 4-8 mm) Particle density (g cm-3) 2.65 2.24 pH  8.21 8.40 Electrical conductivity (dS m-1) 0.29 0.11 Carbonates (%) 0.86 0.80 Organic matter (%) 0.57 - Table 1. Some physical and chemical properties of soil and pumice usedMoisture Tension (kPa) Pore size (µm) Media 0.0-0.98 0.98-9.81 9.81-32.36 32.36-1471.0 >100 100-30 30-3 <3 I 23.18c 9.39 4.63 10.25a 28.96c 3.61 10.65a 16.14 II 28.39b 8.81 4.50 9.67ab 33.99b 3.21 9.88ab 15.41 III 34.91a 9.74 3.94 8.32c 41.20a 3.45 7.87ab 15.21 IV 23.87c 8.88 4.27 10.27a 29.48c 3.27 9.83ab 16.77 V 27.97b 10.03 3.26 8.91bc 34.21b 3.79 8.37ab 15.74 VI 34.18a 8.19 2.84 9.39abc 39.95a 2.92 7.19b 15.69 VII 21.83c 8.92 4.39 9.73ab 27.11c 3.64 10.41a 16.45 LSD0.01 2.51 NS* NS 1.10& 2.27 NS 2.54 NS Table 2. The Amount of Moisture Retained in Different Tensions (Pv) and Pore Size Distribution (%) of media*Non signiﬁ cant&P < 0.05364 Journal of Central European Agriculture Vol 6 (2005) No 3Ustun  SAHIN, Selda ORS, Sezai ERCISLI, Omer ANAPALI, Ahmet ESITKENMedia Leafnumber Leaf area (cm2)Length of the most developed roots (cm) Fresh root weight    (g) Dry root weight (g) Increase of fresh weight (%)I 8.61abc 90.05cd 28.17c 16.95cd 3.10c 85.48ab II 9.72abc 100.22c 32.28bc 17.46bcd 3.42bc 95.88ab III 9.42abc 138.50ab 31.56bc 23.26abc 4.70abc 112.08a IV 7.81bc 90.35cd 28.47c 16.72cd 3.30bc 101.90a V 11.61ab 106.29bc 37.03ab 24.12ab 4.78ab 108.18a VI 11.83a 157.04a 40.97a 28.07a 5.41a 118.17a VII 6.44c 60.78d 28.61c 15.99d 3.20bc 59.03b LSD0.01 3.57 35.73 7.76 6.58 1.48 38.15 Table 3. The effect of growing media on some plant properties of strawberry cv. Fern01020304050607080901000 2 4 6 8Sieve sizes, mmPassing, %Figure 1. The aggregate distribution of soilwhich are important for water retention only found less in number VI growing medium than control (Table 2).The number of leaves, leaf area, most developed root length, fresh and dry root weight and increasing fresh weight of strawberry plants were increased at an important level (p<0.01) in 30% and 45 % pumice amendments in 4-8 mm grade compared to control. The highest number of leaves, leaf area, most developed root lengths, fresh and dry root weight and increasing fresh weight were also obtained from 45% pumice amendments in 4-8 mm grade (Table 3).Field soils are generally unsatisfactory for the production of plants in containers. This is primarily because soils do not provide the aeration, drainage and moisture retain in low tensions required [2].Parallel to increasing pumice amendments ratio, macropores and the amount of water retained at low tensions increased at an important level. This situation effected plant growth positively as well as (Table 2,3).  As a conclusion, pumice amendments to soil increased growth of strawberry plants. This is the reason of EFFECT OF PUMICE AMENDMENT ON PHYSICAL SOIL PROPERTIES AND STRAWBERRY PLANT GROWTH365J. Cent. Eur. Agric. (2005) 6:3, 361-366increasing level of macropores and optimum water retention capacity in pumice amended media [1, 2, 3]. REFERENCES[1] Brückner U., Physical properties of different potting media and substrate mixtures- especially air-and water capacity, Acta Hort. (1997) 450: 263-270.[2] Cabrera R.I., Fundamentals of container media management, Part I, Physical Properties, The State University of New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, http://aesop.rutgers.edu/~Floriculture/publications/physprop.htm, 2003.[3] Caron J., Nkongolo V.K.N., Aeration in growing media: Recent developments, Acta Hort. (1999) 481: 545-551.[4] Danielson R.E., Sutherland P.L., Porosity, in: Klute A., (Ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1,  Physical and Mineralogical Methods,  Soil Sci. Soc. of Amer. Inc. Madison, Wisconsin, 1986,  pp. 443-460.[5] Day D., Growing in Perlite, Grower Digest No: 12, Grower Pub. LTD. London, 1991. [6] Drzal M.S., Fonteno W.C., Cassel D.K., Pore fraction analysis: A new tool for substrate testing, Acta Hort. (1999) 481: 43-54.[7] Gemalmaz E., Drainage Engineering, Ataturk Univ. Publ. No:746, Erzurum, 1993. [8] Gur K., Zengin M., Uyanoz R., Importance of pumice in agriculture and environment, Proceedings of the I. Isparta Pumice Symposium, 26-28 June, Isparta, 1997, pp. 125-132. [9] Hancock J.F., Strawberries, CABI Publishing, Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8DE, UK, 1999. [10] Klute A., Water Retention : Laboratory Methods, in: Klute A. (Ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1, Physical and Mineralogical Methods, Soil Sci. Soc. of Amer. Inc. Madison, Wisconsin, 1986, pp. 635-660.[11] Landis T.D., Containers and Growing Media, Vol 2: The Container Tree Nursery Manuel, Agric. Handbk. 674. Washington, DC:U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 41-85, 1990.  [12] Li D., Joo Y.K., Christians N.E., Minner D.D., Inorganic soil amendment effects on sand-based sports turf media, Crop Sci. (2000) 40: 1121-1125.[13] Milks R.R., Fonteno W.C., Larson R.A., Hydrology of horticultural substrates: I. Mathematical models for moisture characteristics of horticultural container media, J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. (1989)  114(1): 48-52.[14] Orozco R., Gschwander S., Marfà O., Substrate classiﬁ cation from particle size analysis, Acta Hort. (1997) 450: 397-403.[15] Sahin U., Anapali O., Ercisli S., Physico-chemical and physical properties of some substrates used in horticulture, Gartenbauwissenschaft (2002) 67(2): 55-60.[16] Sahin U., Ercisli S., Anapali O., Esitken A., Regional distribution and some physico-chemical and physical properties of some substrates used in horticulture in Turkey, Acta Hort. (2004)  648: 177-183.[17] Sevgican A., Why soilless agriculture. V. Turkey Greenhouse Symposium,  Izmir, 1990.[18] Tuncer G., World pumice reserve and situation and importance of Turkey in production, Proceedings of the I. Isparta Pumice Symposium, 26-28 June, Isparta, 1997, pp. 1-12.

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ORIGINAL PAPER361Volume 6 (2005) No. 3 (361-366)EFFECT OF PUMICE AMENDMENT ON PHYSICAL SOIL PROPERTIES AND STRAWBERRY PLANT GROWTHUstun  SAHIN1,* Selda ORS1, Sezai ERCISLI2, Omer ANAPALI1, Ahmet ESITKEN21Atatürk University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Structures and Irrigation, 25240, Erzurum-Turkey*E-mail: ussahin@atauni.edu.tr or ussahin@yahoo.com, Tel: +90 442 231 2619, Fax: +90 442 236 09582Atatürk University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, 25240, Erzurum-TurkeyManuscript received: April 21, 2005; Reviewed: May 17, 2005; Accepted for publication: July 14, 2005ABSTRACTWe report the results of a research carried out in Turkey in 2004 to determine the effectiveness of different levels of pumice amendments to soil using strawberry plants.  Two grades (2-4 mm and 4-8 mm) of pumice were added to soil and three amendment levels (15%, 30% and 45% by volume) were applied. Finally 6 different growing media types were formulated. The amount of moisture retained at different tensions and distribution of pore size of these growing media were determined. Some plant properties such as the number of leaves, leaf area, fresh and dry root weight, most developed root length and increasing fresh weight of day-notr strawberry plants cv. Fern grown on these media were determined. The best plant growth was observed on media including 4-8 mm pumice grade and 45% pumice amendment ratio with soil.KEYWORDS: Pore size distribution; soil-pumice mixture media; strawberry plant growth; water retention362 Journal of Central European Agriculture Vol 6 (2005) No 3Ustun  SAHIN, Selda ORS, Sezai ERCISLI, Omer ANAPALI, Ahmet ESITKENINTRODUCTIONThe production of greenhouse crops involves a number of cultural inputs. Among these, perhaps the most important is the type of growing media used. Due to the relatively shallow depth and limited volume of a container, growing media must be amended to provide the appropriate physical and chemical properties necessary for plant growth [17].The most important physical properties of a growing media for suitability are good aeration and drainage, and optimum water retention capacity [2]. To improve the physical properties of soils and promote plant growth, soil conditioners can be used [12]. Soil amends have been suggested for use in soils to alleviate soil compaction, increase available water and aeration. Soil compaction changes porosity by generally reducing total porosity and macropore space and increasing micropore space. The relative balance of air and water within a soil’s pore space is critical to plant growth [1, 3]. Porosity can be functionally divided into three parts - total porosity, aeration porosity (macropores) and water holding porosity (micropores) [11]. The macropores (>100 μm diameter) supply drainage and aeration, the mesopores (100-30 μm diameter) supply water conductivity, and the micropores (30-3 μm diameter) supply water retention [7]. The water retained in ultramicropores (<3 μm diameter) is unavailable for plant use [6]. The porosity is generally determining the shape of the moisture characteristics curve (pF curve) which refl ects pore size distribution [13, 14, 15, 16].Pumice has been used to a large extent as a plant growing media and it lightens the soil, makes tillage easier, improves soil aeration and holds water. Pumice mixed with soil in specifi c amounts improves soil’s air and water conductivity, and reduces negative effects of crusting, cracking, fl ooding, and shrink-swelling. It can also be used for a long periods because of its stable physical and chemical properties [8] and it can be provided easily since there are many pumice deposits distributed around the world [18]. Pumice used only after sieving has a high water retention capacity, and very low bulk density value compared to soil [16]. The growing healthy and the best quality seedlings is an important issue in strawberry production. This is possible if used suitable growing media [9]. The practice of adding amendments to growing media goes back years. The effectiveness of pumice amendments does not seem to have been studied before, particularly in strawberry plants.The aim of the present investigation was to determine whether pumice amendments to soil could improve both soil properties and strawberry plant growth.Materials and MethodsThe day-notr strawberry cv. Fern cold-stored seedlings were planted directly in 3 liter plastic bags fi lled with mixture of soil (S) and pumice (P). The characteristics of pumice and soil used are given in Table 1. Two grades (2-4 mm and 4-8 mm) of pumice and three amendment levels (15%, 30% and 45% by volume) were applied. Finally 6 different growing media were formulated and 100% soil used as control. The distribution of particle size of control is given in Fig. 1. The treatments were as follow;85% S + 15% P-1 (I)  S:Soil70% S + 30% P-1 (II)  P:Pumice55% S + 45% P-1 (III)  P-1: Pumice with 2-4 mm grade85% S + 15% P-2 (IV)  P-2: Pumice with 4-8 mm grade70% S + 30% P-2 (V)55% S + 45% P-2  (VI)100% S  (VII)The amount of moisture the media retained in different tensions (pF 1, pF 2, pF 2.52, pF 3, and pF 4.18) was determined by a pressure membrane [10]. Porosity was estimated by calculation [4].Plants were planted into plastic bags on 13 March 2004 and plastic bags were kept under greenhouse temperature regime of 25/20 °C day/night respectively. The daily nutrient solution prepared according to Day [5]. After 4.5 months growing period, each plant was uprooted and evaluated in terms of the numbers of leaves, leaf area, length of the most developed roots, fresh root weight, dry root weight and increasing fresh weight. The experiment design was of a completely randomized design with three replicates including ten plants per replicate. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the data of pore size distribution, amounts of moisture retain in different tensions and plant growth, and Duncan’s multiple range tests were used for important treatments.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONThe amounts of moisture retain in different tensions (Pv) and pore size distribution (%) of the 6 different media are given in Table 2. The amount of moisture retained at < 0.98 kPa increased with increasing pumice amendments in both pumice grade statistically important level (p<0.01). 30% and more pumice amendment ratio increased water retention capacity as compared to control (p<0.01). 30% and 45% pumice amendments ratio were also increased the amount of macropores which supply both drainage and aeration when compared to control (p<0.01). However, micropores EFFECT OF PUMICE AMENDMENT ON PHYSICAL SOIL PROPERTIES AND STRAWBERRY PLANT GROWTH363J. Cent. Eur. Agric. (2005) 6:3, 361-366Properties Soil Pumice Clay (%) 18.9 - Silt (%) 37.2 - Sand (%) 43.9 - Bulk density (g cm-3) 1.12 0.38 (for 2-4 mm) 0.44 (for 4-8 mm) Particle density (g cm-3) 2.65 2.24 pH  8.21 8.40 Electrical conductivity (dS m-1) 0.29 0.11 Carbonates (%) 0.86 0.80 Organic matter (%) 0.57 - Table 1. Some physical and chemical properties of soil and pumice usedMoisture Tension (kPa) Pore size (µm) Media 0.0-0.98 0.98-9.81 9.81-32.36 32.36-1471.0 >100 100-30 30-3 <3 I 23.18c 9.39 4.63 10.25a 28.96c 3.61 10.65a 16.14 II 28.39b 8.81 4.50 9.67ab 33.99b 3.21 9.88ab 15.41 III 34.91a 9.74 3.94 8.32c 41.20a 3.45 7.87ab 15.21 IV 23.87c 8.88 4.27 10.27a 29.48c 3.27 9.83ab 16.77 V 27.97b 10.03 3.26 8.91bc 34.21b 3.79 8.37ab 15.74 VI 34.18a 8.19 2.84 9.39abc 39.95a 2.92 7.19b 15.69 VII 21.83c 8.92 4.39 9.73ab 27.11c 3.64 10.41a 16.45 LSD0.01 2.51 NS* NS 1.10& 2.27 NS 2.54 NS Table 2. The Amount of Moisture Retained in Different Tensions (Pv) and Pore Size Distribution (%) of media*Non signifi cant&P < 0.05364 Journal of Central European Agriculture Vol 6 (2005) No 3Ustun  SAHIN, Selda ORS, Sezai ERCISLI, Omer ANAPALI, Ahmet ESITKENMedia Leafnumber Leaf area (cm2)Length of the most developed roots (cm) Fresh root weight    (g) Dry root weight (g) Increase of fresh weight (%)I 8.61abc 90.05cd 28.17c 16.95cd 3.10c 85.48ab II 9.72abc 100.22c 32.28bc 17.46bcd 3.42bc 95.88ab III 9.42abc 138.50ab 31.56bc 23.26abc 4.70abc 112.08a IV 7.81bc 90.35cd 28.47c 16.72cd 3.30bc 101.90a V 11.61ab 106.29bc 37.03ab 24.12ab 4.78ab 108.18a VI 11.83a 157.04a 40.97a 28.07a 5.41a 118.17a VII 6.44c 60.78d 28.61c 15.99d 3.20bc 59.03b LSD0.01 3.57 35.73 7.76 6.58 1.48 38.15 Table 3. The effect of growing media on some plant properties of strawberry cv. Fern01020304050607080901000 2 4 6 8Sieve sizes, mmPassing, %Figure 1. The aggregate distribution of soilwhich are important for water retention only found less in number VI growing medium than control (Table 2).The number of leaves, leaf area, most developed root length, fresh and dry root weight and increasing fresh weight of strawberry plants were increased at an important level (p<0.01) in 30% and 45 % pumice amendments in 4-8 mm grade compared to control. The highest number of leaves, leaf area, most developed root lengths, fresh and dry root weight and increasing fresh weight were also obtained from 45% pumice amendments in 4-8 mm grade (Table 3).Field soils are generally unsatisfactory for the production of plants in containers. This is primarily because soils do not provide the aeration, drainage and moisture retain in low tensions required [2].Parallel to increasing pumice amendments ratio, macropores and the amount of water retained at low tensions increased at an important level. This situation effected plant growth positively as well as (Table 2,3).  As a conclusion, pumice amendments to soil increased growth of strawberry plants. This is the reason of EFFECT OF PUMICE AMENDMENT ON PHYSICAL SOIL PROPERTIES AND STRAWBERRY PLANT GROWTH365J. Cent. Eur. Agric. (2005) 6:3, 361-366increasing level of macropores and optimum water retention capacity in pumice amended media [1, 2, 3]. REFERENCES[1] Brückner U., Physical properties of different potting media and substrate mixtures- especially air-and water capacity, Acta Hort. (1997) 450: 263-270.[2] Cabrera R.I., Fundamentals of container media management, Part I, Physical Properties, The State University of New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, http://aesop.rutgers.edu/~Floriculture/publications/physprop.htm, 2003.[3] Caron J., Nkongolo V.K.N., Aeration in growing media: Recent developments, Acta Hort. (1999) 481: 545-551.[4] Danielson R.E., Sutherland P.L., Porosity, in: Klute A., (Ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1,  Physical and Mineralogical Methods,  Soil Sci. Soc. of Amer. Inc. Madison, Wisconsin, 1986,  pp. 443-460.[5] Day D., Growing in Perlite, Grower Digest No: 12, Grower Pub. LTD. London, 1991. [6] Drzal M.S., Fonteno W.C., Cassel D.K., Pore fraction analysis: A new tool for substrate testing, Acta Hort. (1999) 481: 43-54.[7] Gemalmaz E., Drainage Engineering, Ataturk Univ. Publ. No:746, Erzurum, 1993. [8] Gur K., Zengin M., Uyanoz R., Importance of pumice in agriculture and environment, Proceedings of the I. Isparta Pumice Symposium, 26-28 June, Isparta, 1997, pp. 125-132. [9] Hancock J.F., Strawberries, CABI Publishing, Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8DE, UK, 1999. [10] Klute A., Water Retention : Laboratory Methods, in: Klute A. (Ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1, Physical and Mineralogical Methods, Soil Sci. Soc. of Amer. Inc. Madison, Wisconsin, 1986, pp. 635-660.[11] Landis T.D., Containers and Growing Media, Vol 2: The Container Tree Nursery Manuel, Agric. Handbk. 674. Washington, DC:U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 41-85, 1990.  [12] Li D., Joo Y.K., Christians N.E., Minner D.D., Inorganic soil amendment effects on sand-based sports turf media, Crop Sci. (2000) 40: 1121-1125.[13] Milks R.R., Fonteno W.C., Larson R.A., Hydrology of horticultural substrates: I. Mathematical models for moisture characteristics of horticultural container media, J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. (1989)  114(1): 48-52.[14] Orozco R., Gschwander S., Marfà O., Substrate classifi cation from particle size analysis, Acta Hort. (1997) 450: 397-403.[15] Sahin U., Anapali O., Ercisli S., Physico-chemical and physical properties of some substrates used in horticulture, Gartenbauwissenschaft (2002) 67(2): 55-60.[16] Sahin U., Ercisli S., Anapali O., Esitken A., Regional distribution and some physico-chemical and physical properties of some substrates used in horticulture in Turkey, Acta Hort. (2004)  648: 177-183.[17] Sevgican A., Why soilless agriculture. V. Turkey Greenhouse Symposium,  Izmir, 1990.[18] Tuncer G., World pumice reserve and situation and importance of Turkey in production, Proceedings of the I. Isparta Pumice Symposium, 26-28 June, Isparta, 1997, pp. 1-12.

EFFECT OF PUMICE AMENDMENT ON PHYSICAL SOIL PROPERTIES AND STRAWBERRY PLANT GROWTH

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