| WiSys: T05022US |  |
| Plant Growth Media for Home Gardens and Nurseries |
| INVENTORS | • | Timothy Zauche, Michael Compton |
OVERVIEW
Most plant growth media currently on the market uses imported peat moss as the primary ingredient. There is a need to supply a novel growth media formulation using domestic materials that out performs what is currently on the market. One promising source of organic materials to serve this purpose is manure digesters that are present across the United States on many farms with populations of domesticated animals.
THE INVENTION
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville are developing a soil amendment that is an ideal replacement for imported peat moss as determined by laboratory tests that confirmed better plant growth when compared to existing potting soils. The invention uses products from a manure digester as a complementary or sole organic addendum to horticulture growing media containing soil, sphagnum peat moss, bark, coconut coir, sawdust, or other organic materials. Head-to-head comparison demonstrated that plants grown in media containing 22-56% processed manure digester products performed better than those grown in media containing similar amounts of sphagnum peat moss. A variety of soils and other growing media have been developed for supporting the growth of various potted plants.
APPLICATIONS
- Plant growth media for in-home and nursery applications
KEY BENEFITS
- Custom formulations for various plant varieties
- Completely odorless and 99.9% bacteria/fungal spore free
- Significant cost savings, compared with other products
- Higher amounts of nitrate nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus
- Higher amounts of humus and similar pore space and water holding capacity
- Geranium plants gained 1.27 fold weight greater in UWP medium compared to peat moss medium
- More floriferous: plants grown in the UWP medium have 1.5 times more flowers
STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT
Formulations created & tested
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Intellectual Property Status
Tech Fields
Agriculture - Crop production
CONTACT INFORMATION
For current licensing status, please contact our team at
[email protected]
or phone 608.263.2500. (Clicking this link will open a contact form in a popup window. If you have problems viewing the form, try disabling your popup blocker software.)
The WiSys Technology Foundation serves the University of Wisconsin System comprehensive campuses by patenting and licensing discoveries to leading companies in Wisconsin, the United States and worldwide. Established in 2000 by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) and the UW System, WiSys is building the next generation of patent and licensing opportunities by fostering collaborations among campuses, private research organizations and industry, facilitating high-tech research with grant programs, and promoting student training for employment in a knowledge-based economy. WiSys's income is distributed to the UW campuses, the inventors and their departments to grow future discoveries and educational opportunities.
