Rice hulls can be alternative growing media component

Growers looking for alternative organic components for their growing mixes may want to consider parboiled rice hulls. Purdue Univ. researchers Roberto Lopez and Chris Currey looked at the impact of replacing perlite with rice hulls. They were interested in learning whether the rice hulls absorbed plant growth regulators (PGRs).
Pansies and calibrachoa planted into a mix consisting of 80% peat:20% rice hulls and one with 80% peat:20% perlite. Plants were treated with several PGR drenches. Plants grown in both mixes and treated with and without PGRs were found to have similar heights and stem lengths.

Pictured: Purdue Univ. researchers Roberto Lopez (left) and Chris Currey have found rice hulls in growing mixes don’t impact growth regulator effectiveness.
Photo by Tom Campbell, Purdue Ag Communication