IDENTIFICATION OF POTTING MEDIA COMPONENTS BY NEAR INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY

摘要

This paper reports the results of a study on the NIR spectral responses of the most common ingredients of potting media and on the prediction of media formulation. NIR spectra were recorded for 75 samples representing light, dark and black peats, pumice, perlite, sand, bentonite and montmorillonite. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied in order to evaluate the spectral variability of the materials. The prediction of the percentage formulation of a four component potting media was performed on 126 combinations (v/v) of perlite and light, dark and black peats. Calibration equations were developed by Partial Least Square (PLS) in order to estimate the percentage of each constituent in the mixtures. The obtained results can be regarded as acceptable for a quality control of potting media.