Since the late 1980s, sphagnum moss has been used as the sole substrate for producing Phalaenopsis in Taiwan. The addition of 20% sphagnum peat to fir bark resulted in a lower initial pH and more severe decline in substrate pH than fir bark alone ( Wang, 1998 Wang and Konow, 2002). Wang and Konow (2002) showed the influence of root substrate and fertilizer on substrate pH. In Taiwan, the export value of Phalaenopsis increased from $64.0 million in 2009 to $82.6 million in 2010 ( Bureau of Foreign Trade, 2011), a 29% annual growth, with increasing quantities being exported.

It is the highest valued potted plant sold at auctions in The Netherlands and the most valued potted flowering plant in the United States ( United States Department of Agriculture, 2010). Phalaenopsis has become one of the most important floral crops in the world. Keywords: pH electrical conductivity orchids fertilization rhizosphere Therefore, the roots of Phalaenopsis may be the major contributor to substrate pH decline during production. Whether the substrate was exposed to light (clear pots) or not (opaque pots) had no effect on substrate pH, indicating that algae were not a factor in pH decline. Although the magnitude and course of pH decline were different in various substrates, the pH of sphagnum moss, artificial textile fiber, and pine bark substrates in which living plants were growing declined with time. Regardless of whether the sphagnum moss was fertilized, the pH of the substrate without plants increased as time progressed, whereas the pH of the substrate in which living Phalaenopsis plants were growing declined with time. The results showed that, although increasing fertilizer concentration resulted in a low initial pH (pH measured by the pour-through technique at first fertilization), fertilization itself was not the primary cause of the long-term pH decline. Sogo Yukidian ‘V3’, this study investigated if substrate, fertilization, light, and plant roots could be the cause of pH decline in the substrate. It is not understood what causes this decline in substrate pH.

With a lengthened duration of cultivation, the pH of the moss gradually declines. Sphagnum moss has been used as the major substrate for cultivating Phalaenopsis spp.

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