Introduction

Bio Products Processor manufactures cocopeat and allied products for use in raising high tech horticultural, ornamental and agricultural crops throughout the world.

Soil is the primary medium for cultivation of all terrestrial plants. Good soils provide a suitable terrain for many types of plants to grow on. Continuous cultivation in modern agriculture has produced many delterious effects on the crop and on the soil and ground water. Some of the negative impacts of year round cropping have been decline in crop yields due to depletion of nutrients, depletion of ground water and increase in soil- and water- salinity. The most damaging impact of excessive cultivation, however, has been the compaction of soil leading to poor aeration and ventilation which in turm adversely affect the soil climate and negatively impact the micro-flora and -fauna.

The Qualities of Cocopeat

Our cocopeat is entirely made up of the pith, fiber and dust of the coconut husk. It is therefore a wholesome, natural product. Coconut husk is largely made of lignin (60 to 70%). It further contains cellulose (5 to 8%), water and a few minerals. Some of the characteristics of lignin that make it a highly suitable physical substrate on which to raise terrestrial plants are as follows:

• Lignin degrades very, very slowly in nature.
• Lignin is a very stable growth medium for plants.
• Lignin is a very inert material from which no leachates emerge; Consequently any added soil additive and plant nutrient is fully available to the plants.
• Lignin's near-neutral pH and negligble electrical conductivity does however promote the development of favourable micro-organisms around and in assocociation with the root zone.
• Lignin provides very good porosity for regular exchange of air.

Cocopeat finds admirable use as a solo plant substrate for any terrestrial plant for all these favourable attributes. Furthermore, cocopeat combines well with soil, peat moss, rock wool and many other substances used for the cultivation. It provides inexpensive bulk matter to the subtrate and at the same time influence plant growth positively. Consequently, cocopeat is widely used as a soil additive to imporve and condition soil where the nutritional health of the soil has been eroded. Cocopeat has no colour run-offs, making it a preferred choice of planting substrate in home gardens, indoor pot plants and commercial nurseries. Other qualities of cocopeat are as that it is an ideal substitute for peat moss, it's easy to compress and poses no plant quarantine hazards in global commerce. Cocopeat has been universally accepted as a good plant growth substrate as well as a soil additive for over a decade now.