New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science abstracts

---

Review 

Rockwool in horticulture, and its importance and sustainable use in New Zealand

W. T. Bussell

School of Landscape & Plant Science
UNITEC Institute of Technology
Private Bag 92 025
Auckland, New Zealand
email: wbussell@unitec.ac.nz

S. McKennie

Veg-Gro Supplies Ltd
10 Firth St
Drury, New Zealand

Abstract  A brief history of the beginnings of the use of rockwool in horticulture in overseas countries, an outline of uses overseas of the current forms of water absorbent and water repellent horticultural rockwool, a summary of manufacturers of the product, a consideration of some of its advantages and disadvantages, and a listing of the crops grown in horticultural rockwool are given in this paper. An outline of the overseas experiences in both the disposal of and the sustainable reuse of horticultural rockwool is also given. A history of use in New Zealand of horticultural rockwool and the crops grown on the product are outlined. Options, which are both within and outside horticulture, for the sustainable reuse of the relatively small volume (c. 300 m³/year) which becomes available for reuse in New Zealand at present are described and discussed. Many of these options may be applicable in other countries where the volume of horticultural rockwool used is relatively small.

Keywords  reuse; horticultural rockwool; review

H03070; Online publication date 17 March 2004; Received 9 July 2003; accepted 19 September 2003
New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, 2004, Vol. 32: 29-37
0014-0671/04/3201-0029 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2004

PDF file of entire paper: Print-quality (436K) | screen-quality (112K)

---

This year's abstracts | Journal home page | All abstracts | Publishing home page