Growing Early Agricultural Products in Open Fields and Greenhouses Using Agrotextile and Seedling Trays

Growing early vegetables with minimal time and financial investment can be achieved through modern technologies. By using seedling trays and white agrotextile, which is quite affordable, you can reduce seed and substrate costs by 2-3 times, shorten seedling age, increase plant yield per unit area, ensure nearly 100% survival rate, and increase crop yield by 25-30%.

Important! Planting seeds too early does not accelerate fruiting, but leads to stretching and diseases of the plants. Even with optimal light and temperature conditions, the desired result will not be achieved. Overgrown seedlings stretch and poorly take root, losing flowers and ovaries.

Advantages of growing seedlings using multi-trays

Seedling trays create uniform and optimal conditions for development – each plant receives enough space to form a strong root system, sufficient water, light, and nutrients. As a result, you get even, high-quality seedlings with well-developed roots and strong stems.

Studies have shown that 25-30-day-old seedlings grown using tray technology outperform 50-60-day-old plants grown by traditional methods.

Main characteristics of multi-trays:

• High field survival rate – 98% (2% of plants are rejected due to mechanical damage), which is 18-20% higher than the survival rate of traditionally grown plants;
• Versatility – suitable for growing lettuce, celery, dill, onions, strawberry seedlings, vegetable crops, and flowers;
• Ease of care (watering and feeding) – access to plants from all sides;
• Convenient for transportation;
• Compact placement on a small area;
• Significant savings on seed material, substrate, and electricity;
• Can be used in home settings, greenhouses, and agricultural enterprises.

Compared to traditional methods, tray technology allows for obtaining 1.5-2.7 times more seedlings per unit area.

Advantages of using agrotextile

When using spunbond, there is no need to build complex structures – it is enough to spread it on the ground or stretch it over hoops. The material has high permeability (lets 90% of sunlight through but blocks ultraviolet rays) and is eco-friendly (harmless to the environment). It retains heat, is resistant to temperature fluctuations, ensures continuous air circulation, allows moisture through, but prevents over-watering.

Agrin agrotextile will help:

• Protect seedlings from freezing even in significant frosts (down to -10°C);
• Increase germination by 20%;
• Speed up crop maturity by 2-3 weeks;
• Increase yield by 25-30%;
• Protect plants from wind, scorching sun, weeds, and pests;
• Create a favorable microclimate;
• Preserve moisture and reduce watering frequency;
• Simplify the vegetable growing process;
• Improve the marketability of the product.

Selection Features

Before purchasing seedling trays and agrotextile, you need to understand their characteristics, make a list of the crops to be grown, and calculate the necessary number of plants.

When choosing multi-trays, pay attention to the following characteristics:

• Dimensions (standard – 540x280 mm, 600x400 mm, 360x560 mm);
• Material (PVC, polypropylene, polystyrene);
• Color (black, white);
• Wall thickness (0.5-0.8 mm);
• Cell shape (cubic, cylindrical, conical);
• Number of cells (4-576);
• Cell volume (20-500 ml);
• Cell depth (35-110 mm);
• Presence of additional equipment (tray, lid).

The table will help you choose the right trays.

Seed trays for pepper and eggplant seedlings should ideally have a conical cell shape. These plants are very sensitive to root damage, and conical cells minimize the risk of damaging seedlings during transplantation.

Seed trays for tomato seedlings should contain a small number of cells to ensure maximum light exposure for the plants. The optimal cell shape is cylindrical, providing the greatest convenience when planting in the ground.

Seed trays for cabbage seedlings should be purchased with trays. Cabbage is one of the most water-loving plants and cannot tolerate drying out, and the trays help retain moisture.

When buying seed trays for strawberry seedlings, it's best to choose cubic cells. They will provide enough space for the branching root system.

Creating greenhouse conditions, speeding up seed germination, and plant development will be facilitated by seed trays with transparent lids.

To calculate how many seed trays to buy, use the formula:

Number of trays = number of seedlings/number of cells.

To determine the total amount of substrate, multiply the following components: the volume of cells, the number of cells, and the number of trays.

The price of seed trays depends on several factors: material, size, wall thickness, number of cells, and manufacturer. To save money significantly, it's best to buy seed trays in bulk.

When choosing agrotextile, it is important to consider:

1. Type (color): white agrotextile is intended for protecting plants from negative environmental factors, while black is for mulching.
2. The material's density affects its ability to protect against frosts. For early production, agrotextile with a density of 17 g/m² (protects from frost up to -2°C) and 23 g/m² (provides protection against frost up to -5°C) is mainly used. It is lightweight and does not harm plants. Denser material can break leaves and stems, so it is secured on arcs to form a greenhouse, creating the ideal microclimate. Agrotextile for greenhouses is recommended in densities of 30 g/m² (for protection against frost up to -7°C) or 50 g/m² (protects from frost up to -10°C). The material's density is selected based on the climatic conditions of the region and the cold resistance of the plants being grown.
3. Roll length: manufacturers typically offer rolls of 50-100 meters, but custom orders can be made for 200- or 500-meter rolls.
4. Roll width: standard widths are 1.07; 1.6; 2.1, and 3.2 meters, but other sizes (up to 15.8 meters) are also available.
5. If you want to not only grow a generous early harvest but also save significantly, we recommend buying agrotextile in bulk.

Conclusion on Growing Early Crops

By using the cassette technology for growing crops, strong, even, disease-resistant plants are obtained, which quickly adapt to both closed and open soil. They do not experience stress during transplantation and begin growing immediately, leading to a more generous and earlier harvest (2-3 weeks earlier). Protecting the grown seedlings from frost and preventing crop loss can be achieved with agrotextile.