At Oasis Grower Solutions, a division of Smithers-Oasis Company, the team sees a changing industry that presents new challenges for growers. Spurred by these developments, the company, which specializes in developing propagation media, set out to engineer a new propagation substrate.
"We felt it was time for a new generation of growing media to address the current-day issues growers face. That substrate was OASIS® RhizoPlugTM, a rooting plug for vegetative propagation of floriculture crops, culinary herbs, hemp and similar plants in manual as well as automated growing operations," explains Vijay Rapaka, Ph.D., Smithers-Oasis Director of Global Grower Operations & Research and the former lead scientist of the Oasis Grower Solutions Research, Innovation & Development team. In this article, Dr. Rapaka discusses how this product can offer a solution to today's growers.
Dr. Rapaka
Responding to current industry changes
Through the years, the industry changed quite a bit, says Rapaka. First of all, he points to changes in the technological realm, highlighting that technological advances in terms of supplemental lighting and climate control systems are creating new growing environment conditions. He also finds that there is a growing demand for the recirculation of irrigation water to improve sustainability. In addition, Rapaka says, growers currently also have to deal with various logistical delays and breakdowns, changing weather patterns, as well as increased disease and pest pressures — factors that can all affect the quality of unrooted cuttings and finished liners.
"Some of these changes have been drastic, some have been gradual, and some have been abrupt. Yet for us it was clear that growers' needs evolved along with these shifts," Rapaka says. "With this in mind, we engineered a versatile substrate that provides an answer to the challenges that growers currently are facing."
As mentioned, these considerations led to the engineering of the Oasis RhizoPlug which is available as automation-ready singulated plug trays as well as sheets. The product consists of an engineered foam made with a resin used in several common household applications.
Oasis RhizoPlug Tray Dhalia
Substrate for today's growers
Rapaka explains how Oasis RhizoPlug substrates can benefit growers. He first elaborates on the substrate's potential to save on labor: "The singulated foam substrate has low bulk density, which allows propagators to stick vegetative cuttings quickly without breakage or damage. It also contributes to faster rooting, extraction, and transplant." Being pre-dibbled, pre-loaded and ready on demand all reduce labor and accelerate production speed.
Moreover, Rapaka asserts that the Oasis RhizoPlug can help reduce pressures from pests and pathogens and support more sustainable growing: "Advanced surfactant technology promotes faster hydration and rapid cutting recovery. This in turn allows for earlier reduction in misting frequency (and misting resources) and reduces pest pressures. The substrate ships clean and free of pests and pathogens, and offers growers a cleaner propagation experience — clean not only referring to the substrate itself, but also to cleaner benches, cleaner floors, walls, etc.
Additionally, the product allows for growing more sustainably with less water, as it keeps water readily available to the cuttings throughout young plant production. Because cuttings rehydrate and recover rapidly with Oasis RhizoPlug Tray, growers used to heavy watering with less-responsive substrates should adjust their watering regimen accordingly."
Oasis RhizoPlug Tray Lavender
Rapaka further emphasizes the versatility of the Oasis RhizoPlug: "It was designed for precision vegetative propagation, and it can be used under a wide variety of greenhouse environments. It is recommended for wide variety of annuals and quick-turn perennials that are propagated from vegetative cuttings, as well as containerized potted and bedding plants. Most vegetative crops do well in this substrate including several herbaceous and semi-woody crops. Some crops that deserve special mention are lavender, rosemary, mandevilla, eucalyptus and hemp. However, we do not recommend it for field transplant production."
Future-oriented innovation and development
When asked what the Oasis Grower Solutions team expects for the future of the industry, Rapaka says the following: "Huge learnings and developments have been made with vertical indoor farming. A lot of this has to do with LED lighting becoming more affordable, along with significant advancements in controlled environment technologies. Much could be learned and implemented to improve the efficiencies of the horticulture and floriculture industry, especially with propagation.
Oasis RhizoPlug Tray Mandevilla
"Here at Oasis Grower Solutions, we are constantly innovating and developing new products to further the industry," Rapaka says. "We are very focused on improving sustainability. We strive for grower-driven innovation to address real-world needs that growers share with us and that we see impacting the industry now and in the future."
He adds, "We always welcome the input of the growers. If there is anything we can do to develop or improve our offering, we want them to please reach out and let us know their needs. Like our name Oasis Grower Solutions says, we're here to provide growers with solutions to their problems and help them succeed."
For more information:
Oasis Grower Solutions
www.oasisgrowersolutions.com