Eco-organic type soilless culture technique in China

Eco-organic type soilless culture,first developed by Institute of Vegetables & Flowers,Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in mid-90′s,introduces organic agriculture into soilless culture,directly uses tap water instead of nutrient solution to irrigate plant,and greatly reduces initial investment and running cost.During the period of less than 10 years,the area using eco-organic type soilless culture reached 163hm².The research results in recent years showed that the materials,such as coal cinder,sand,coir,sunflowers stem,maize stem,mushroom waste and sawdust,can be used as substrates of soilless culture which greatly lowered the cost of soilless culture.The report introduces the history,characteristics,system structure, present development of research and extension activity,and future prospect of eco-organic type of soilless culture.