The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture , Food and the Marine with special responsibility for Horticulture , Senator Pippa Hackett , has welcome the proclamation of € 1.69 million in funding , for enquiry into peat alternatives for gardening , from the Department of Agriculture , Food and the Marine ’s Competitive Research Call 2021 .
The Minister remark : “ This is a important stair in assisting the gardening sector to conversion from peat as a growing culture medium to sustainable alternatives . ”
Peat has become an essential component in the product of plant and mushrooms in professional horticulture , due to its favorable physical , chemical , and biological characteristics . However , there is a pressing need to value and develop alternatives that have a friendly environmental visibility while also maintaining harvest yield and lineament .
The Teagasc - led research project ‘ Beyond Peat ’ focuses on utilizing constitutive bio - resources and refreshing technology to develop specifically plan and sustainable peat replenishment for professional horticultural crop production . ‘ Beyond Peat ’ will assess current available substitute ontogeny and casing materials across five key sub - sectors of gardening while also developing advanced growth media utilize raw technology to transform organic dissipation into materials with favourable physical characteristics for works and mushroom-shaped cloud carrying into action . Other institutions across the island of Ireland collaborate on the labor include Technological University of the Shannon , University of Limerick , University College Dublin , Agri - Food & Biosciences Institute , and University College Cork .
The Minister contribute : “ The funding of € 1.69 million being provided to this project demonstrates my Department ’s continued commitment to find alternative to peat as a growing media and will build on the enquiry already fund by this Department . I would also further the gardening sector to utilize the € 9 million in backing for the Scheme of Investment Aid for the Commercial Horticulture Sector in their transition to peat alternatives . Financial support is available under this Scheme to attend to growers and businesses through grant aid for capital investment in specialized plants and equipment including renewable energy , as well as technology adoption specific to commercial gardening production , such as those for utilizing alternative growing media . ”
For more info : TeagascTeagasc , Oak Park , Carlow R93 XE12Tel : +353 59 917 0200Fax : +353 59 918 2097[email protected]www.teagasc.ie
