Sugarcane filter press mud (FPM) is a waste product of the sugar milling industry. Around the world, it is used in nurseries as a component of substrates in container nurseries. It has been used to grow bananas Musa spp. in various countries with contradictory results. In this experiment, 12-month pile-aged FPM or sphagnum peat (SP) was used as a substrate component for growing banana plantlets Musa acuminata ‘Williams’ (AAA) in a greenhouse in Belle Glade, FL. Substrate mixtures were either 55% or90% FPM or SP and the complement was made of an even mixture of vermiculite and perlite. Plants were watered on 1-, 2- and 4-day intervals. At each interval, plants were watered to ensure 20% leaching. Every eight days, containers, substrate, and plantswere weighed before and after irrigation to determine water usage. Plants grown in FPM had lower evapotranspiration than plants grown in an SP-based substrate. However, daily watering was required for plants in FPM-based substrate to ensure growth similar to the plants grown in SP-based substrate.
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