What Is Coco Pith?

Coco Pith is a multipurpose growing medium made out of coconut husk. The fibrous coconut husk is pre washed, machine dried, sieved and made free from sand and other contaminations such as animal and plant residue. Coco peat is a very good alternative to traditional peat moss and Rock wool. Its air filled porosity and high water holding capacity makes it, an ideal growing medium for the plant crops. It is 100% organic and eco friendly, free from soil borne pathogen and weed. It has a pH of 5.7 – 6.5, EC level < 0.5 mS/cm is ideal for plant growth.

Benefits Of Coco Coir / Pith Are As Following :

• -    High water holding capacity
• -    Acceptable pH & EC
• -    Excellent wet ability, superior to peat
• -    Ability to retain nutrients against leaching and to buffer supply
• -    Unique water holding capacity
• -    Good drainage/aeration
• -    Less shrinkage
• -    Retains physical properties longer
• -    Light weight
• -    No pests, weeds, or diseases
• -    Odourless and pleasant to handle
• -    Natural and renewable resource
• -    Uniform in composition
• -    100% Organic
• -    Promotes strong root growth and plant vigour.
• -    Absorbs water readily and re-wets easily, thus reducing the need for wetting agents.
• -    Reduces watering frequency without plant stress, thereby reducing labour costs and minimizing plant loss
• -    Increases shelf life of plants
• -    The slow breakdown of material means the product will not shrink during your growing cycle
• -    High water holding capacity while still maintaining excellent drainage and aeration.

Coco - Chips

Coco chips are made by cutting coconut husk into cube-shaped pieces. They are highly recommended for the germination of high-value cash crops. Most orchid and cut-flower growers are using coco husk chips as an advanced alternative to bark based growing medium. Coco chips are also used as a mulching agent as well as a soil conditioner. Our coir chips are used as mulching material in gardens. It is a natural and renewable substitute for pine bark. A garden where coir is applied doesn’t only look beautiful but on top of that is better for plants and trees because of its property to retain high amounts of water and to release it there where necessary. Coco coir husk chips, organic and natural mulch are made from coconut shells (husk) making them a highly sustainable alternative to other mulch options. The durable coconut fiber husk-chips can withstand inclement weather and break down at a more measured and even rate than other bark chips. High-quality coco coir chips absorb water and retain it, slowly releasing over time. Husks cut into chunks; the coco husk chips allow for better aeration and water flow to plants and are ideal for soilless plants like orchids and as landscaping mulch. Commonly mixed with coco coir growing medium to provide better aeration for plants.

Advantages of our coco husk :

• -    Very clean, uniform and no wastage
• -    Wet coconut husk chips hold water and air like a sponge
• -    Excellent drainage, high Cation exchange capacity (CEC)
• -    Cuts down fertilizer application up to 30%
• -    Prevents stress after repotting
• -    Neutral pH and innate buffering capacity
• -    Lasts longer than bark with no degradation (5 plus years)
• -    Resists fungal growth
• -    100% natural and renewable resource

Coco - Discs :

Our Coir Discs is developed using optimum quality coir pith and are specifically used to control the weeds from plant container and landscape plants. It has high water absorption capacity thus water can be saved by reducing evaporation from the soil media. Moreover, the coconut coir pith & coco coir peat Round Discs gives a rehydrated yield of one litre of soil per disk.

Coco discs consist of coarse coco material, which is made of the husk of the coconut. Cutting the husk creates an airy, easily manageable and powerful growing medium with good drainage properties. These discs are compressed for transport and expand to their original size after water is added.

Testing Methods :

The following are the methods of testing some important properties of coco peat. Some suppliers may follow a different method from the methods described below. Unless specified otherwise in the quotation, the testing methods for different major properties of coco peat shall be as below. There is no standard specified for testing coco peat, however the following methods describe industry accepted methods of testing

Electrical Conductivity: :

The following describe two major methods of testing coco peat.

Wet method :

This is the method followed by us generally. It is also comparatively stringent than the dry method. This method is followed by suppliers to European countries. It is also referred to as 1:1.5 methods.

Take samples of the coco peat, either from a single block or from a number of blocks. Crush the compressed coco peat by hand to powder it. Rub between the palms to separate the coco peat from the fibre.

Measure the EC of demineralised water or RO water (ECw) using a calibrated hand held EC meter. Mix the coco peat with just the right amount of demineralised water to fully expand the compressed particles. One way is to mix five times the weight of the coco peat to be tested (50ml of water with 10g of coco peat). Take 100 ml of this mixture and to it add 500 ml of demineralised water.

Stir well and allow soaking for about 15 minutes. (Usually for coco peat the EC doesn’t change much after one minute. But for coconut husk chips the soaking is very important and the recommended time is 30 minutes). Strain the coco peat and collect the solution in a glass or plastic container. The coco peat may be pressed during straining using a spoon.

Measure the EC of the solution with the EC meter (ECc). Ensure that there is sufficient quantity of the solution to completely immerse the measuring tip of the EC meter; otherwise the readings will be erroneous.

The EC of coco peat is measured by the formula ECc - ECw (mS/cm)

Dry method :

The following describe two major methods of testing coco peat. In this method after the fibre is separated, the dust is not wet with water. One part of dry dust is mixed with five parts of demineralised water by volume (100 ml to 500 ml). Stir, soak and strain the solution and measure the EC (ECc).

The EC of coco peat is measured by the formula ECc – Ecw (mS/cm) Apart from this there are other methods followed such as 1:1.5 wet method and 1:5 dry method ( compressed coco pith ). Some buyers in India use 1:10 gravimetric method. However, volumetric method is always preferred over gravimetric method as sand content can affect results in gravimetric method. While measuring the raw materials for quality control, less water should be used for measuring EC as EC increases with drying and compression.