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Potting Soil
Potting soil or growing media, also known as potting mix or potting compost (UK), is a substrate used to grow plants in containers. The first recorded use of the term is from an 1861 issue of the ''American Agriculturist''. Despite its name, little or no soil is usually used in potting soil. Materials Materials used for growing mediums include: peat, coconut coir, wood products like bark and wood fiber, perlite, stone wool, soils/tufts, and recycled paper and cardboard. Other materials used include rice hulls, sand, vermiculite, and calcined clays. Properties Typical potting mixes include one or more materials which retain moisture, one or more materials which aid in aeration and drainage, and fertilizer. Moisture-retaining materials and aerating materials can be combined in any ratio, depending on the particular needs of the plant. Soils are minimally used as growing media because they compact and lose pore space after repeated watering and can be too heavy for growing potted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plant Nutrition
Plant nutrition is the study of the chemical elements and compounds necessary for plant growth and reproduction, plant metabolism and their external supply. In its absence the plant is unable to complete a normal life cycle, or that the element is part of some essential plant constituent or metabolite. This is in accordance with Justus von Liebig's law of the minimum. The total essential plant nutrients include seventeen different elements: carbon, oxygen and hydrogen which are absorbed from the air, whereas other nutrients including nitrogen are typically obtained from the soil (exceptions include some parasitic or carnivorous plants). Plants must obtain the following mineral nutrients from their growing medium: * The macronutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), sulfur (S), magnesium (Mg), carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O) * The micronutrients (or trace minerals): iron (Fe), boron (B), chlorine (Cl), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legionnaires' Disease
Legionnaires' disease is a form of atypical pneumonia caused by any species of ''Legionella'' bacteria, quite often ''Legionella pneumophila''. Signs and symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, high fever, myalgia, muscle pains, and headaches. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may also occur. This often begins 2–10 days after exposure. A legionellosis is any disease caused by ''Legionella'', including Legionnaires' disease (a pneumonia) and Pontiac fever (a related upper respiratory tract infection), but Legionnaires' disease is the most common, so mentions of legionellosis often refer to Legionnaires' disease. The bacterium is found naturally in fresh water. It can contaminate hot water tanks, hot tubs, and cooling towers of large air conditioners. It is usually spread by breathing in mist that contains the bacteria. It can also occur when contaminated water is Pulmonary aspiration, aspirated. It typically does not spread directly between people, and most people who are ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fungus Gnat
Fungus gnats are small, dark, short-lived gnats, of the families Sciaridae, Diadocidiidae, Ditomyiidae, Keroplatidae, Bolitophilidae, and Mycetophilidae (order Diptera); they comprise six of the seven families placed in the superfamily Sciaroidea. They are also Flies. Description The larvae of most species feed on fungi growing on soil, helping in the decomposition of organic matter. However some species are predatory, including those in the genus ''Arachnocampa'' of family Keroplatidae – the "glowworms" of Australia and New Zealand. The adults are long, and are occasionally pollinators of plants and carriers of mushroom spores. They also may carry diseases such as pythium (which causes " damping-off" to kill seedlings) on their feet. Most fungus gnats are weak fliers, and can often be seen walking rapidly over plants and soil, rather than flying. However, when airborne, the gnats may be quite annoying to humans by flying into their faces, eyes, and noses, both indoo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venus Flytrap
The Venus flytrap (''Dionaea muscipula'') is a carnivorous plant native to the temperate and subtropical wetlands of North Carolina and South Carolina, on the East Coast of the United States. Although various modern hybrids have been created in cultivation, ''D. muscipula'' is the only species of the monotypic genus ''Dionaea''. It is closely related to the waterwheel plant ('' Aldrovanda vesiculosa'') and the cosmopolitan sundews (''Drosera''), all of which belong to the family Droseraceae. ''Dionaea'' catches its prey—chiefly insects and arachnids—with a "jaw"-like clamping structure, which is formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves; when an insect makes contact with the open leaves, vibrations from the prey's movements ultimately trigger the "jaws" to shut via tiny hairs (called "trigger hairs" or "sensitive hairs") on their inner surfaces. Additionally, when an insect or spider touches one of these hairs, the trap prepares to close, only fully ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carnivorous Plant
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods, and occasionally small mammals and birds. They have adapted to grow in waterlogged sunny places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic bogs. They can be found on all continents except Antarctica, as well as many Pacific islands. In 1875, Charles Darwin published '' Insectivorous Plants'', the first treatise to recognize the significance of carnivory in plants, describing years of painstaking research. True carnivory is believed to have evolved independently at least 12 times in five different orders of flowering plants, and is represented by more than a dozen genera. This classification includes at least 583 species that attract, trap, and kill prey, absorbing the resulting available nutrients. Venus flytraps (''Dionaea muscipula''), pitcher plants, and bladderworts ('' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parts Per Million
In science and engineering, the parts-per notation is a set of pseudo-units to describe the small values of miscellaneous dimensionless quantity, dimensionless quantities, e.g. mole fraction or mass fraction (chemistry), mass fraction. Since these fraction (mathematics), fractions are quantity-per-quantity measures, they are pure numbers with no associated units of measurement. Commonly used are * parts-per-million - ppm, * parts-per-billion - ppb, * parts-per-trillion - ppt, * parts-per-quadrillion - ppq, This notation is not part of the International System of Units - SI system and its meaning is ambiguous. Applications Parts-per notation is often used describing dilute solutions in chemistry, for instance, the relative abundance of dissolved minerals or pollutants in water. The quantity "1 ppm" can be used for a mass fraction if a water-borne pollutant is present at one-millionth of a gram per gram of sample solution. When working with aqueous solutions, it is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conductivity (electrolytic)
Conductivity or specific conductance of an electrolyte solution is a measure of its ability to conduct electricity. The SI unit of conductivity is siemens per meter (S/m). Conductivity measurements are used routinely in many industrial and environmental applications as a fast, inexpensive and reliable way of measuring the ionic content in a solution. For example, the measurement of product conductivity is a typical way to monitor and continuously trend the performance of water purification systems. In many cases, conductivity is linked directly to the total dissolved solids (TDS). High-quality deionized water has a conductivity of : \kappa = 0.05501 \pm 0.0001 μS/cm at 25 °C. This corresponds to a specific resistivity of : \rho = 18.18 \pm 0.03 MΩ⋅cm. The preparation of salt solutions often takes place in unsealed beakers. In this case the conductivity of purified water often is 10 to 20 times higher. A discussion can be found below. Typical drinking water is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salinometer
A salinometer is a device designed to measure the salinity, or dissolved salt content, of a solution. Since the salinity affects both the electrical conductivity and the specific gravity of a solution, a salinometer often consist of an ec meter or hydrometer and some means of converting those readings to a salinity reading. A salinometer may be calibrated in either micromhos, a unit of electrical conductivity, (usually 0-22) or else directly calibrated for salt in 'grains per gallon' (0-0.5). A typical reading on-board ship would be 2 micromhos or 0.05 grains per gallon. A reading of twice this may trigger a warning light or alarm. Applications Fresh water generators (Evaporators) use salinometers on the distillate discharge in order to gauge the quality of the water. Water from the evaporator can be destined for potable water supplies, so salty water is not desirable for human consumption. In some ships, extremely high quality distillate is required for use in water-tube boi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass and block it as heat. The most common materials used in modern greenhouses for walls and roofs are rigid plastic made of polycarbonate, plastic film made of polyethylene, or glass panes. When the inside of a greenhouse is exposed to sunlight, the temperature increases, providing a sheltered environment for plants to grow even in cold weather. The terms greenhouse, glasshouse, and hothouse are often used interchangeably to refer to buildings used for cultivating plants. The specific term used depends on the material and heating system used in the building. Nowadays, greenhouses are more commonly constructed with a variety of materials, such as wood and polyethylene plastic. A glasshouse, on the other hand, is a traditional type of greenhouse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soil Test
A soil test is a laboratory or in-situ analysis to determine the chemical, physical or biological characteristics of a soil. Possibly the most widely conducted soil tests are those performed to estimate the plant-available concentrations of nutrients in order to provide fertilizer recommendations in agriculture. In geotechnical engineering, soil tests can be used to determine the current physical state of the soil, the seepage properties, the shear strength and the deformation properties of the soil. Other soil tests may be used in geochemical or ecological investigations. Agricultural soil tests In agriculture, a soil test commonly refers to the analysis of a soil sample to determine nutrient content, composition, and other characteristics such as the acidity or pH level. A soil test can determine fertility, or the expected growth potential of the soil which indicates nutrient deficiencies, potential toxicities from excessive fertility and inhibitions from the presence of n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bark (botany)
Bark is the outermost layer of Plant stem, stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines, and shrubs. Bark refers to all the Tissue (biology), tissues outside the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner bark, which in older Plant stem, stems is living tissue, includes the innermost layer of the periderm. The outer bark on older stems includes the dead tissue on the surface of the stems, along with parts of the outermost periderm and all the tissues on the outer side of the periderm. The outer bark on trees which lies external to the living periderm is also called the Glossary of botanical terms#rhytidome, rhytidome. Products derived from bark include bark shingle siding and wall coverings, spices, and other flavorings, tanbark for tannin, resin, latex, medicines, poisons, various hallucinogenic chemicals, and Cork (material), cork. Bark has been used to make clot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
