Development of Lightened Cellular Seedling Raising System on Papery Root Zone –1. Germinated Seedlings Rootage on the Sheet–

Abstract

We have newly developed a cellular seedlings raising system that is simple and allows seedlings to grow on papery root zone with lean medium. This seedling raising system was named the “cell sheet” system. In this system, plant roots grow horizontally on a cloth that the roots cannot penetrate (sheet cloth). The roots are covered by material that protect the roots (covering material). Both capillary watering and hydroponic watering supply the roots. The effects of the sheet cloth and the covering material on the fresh weight, survival rate and adherence of seedlings, were investigated. If the sheet cloth was Tetoron200lpi or Tetoron250lpi, the extent of bonding in the seedlings was suitable; the seedlings did not peel off even when the cell sheets were hung vertically, while most roots were not damaged when the seedlings were peeled off. When the sheet cloth was Tetoron200lpi and the covering material was 200 or 400 ml of peat-moss dried at 80 °C, the cell sheet seedlings grew bigger than those in the ordinary cellular seedling raising system with the same size cell as the cell sheet. However, the survival rate of lettuce decreased, when cell sheets were covered with peat-moss.