Performance of Alternative Containers and Plant Growth and Water Use of Euonymus fortunei

Euonymus fortunei ‘Roemertwo’ were planted in three types of #1 (~3.8 L) containers (treatments): 1) polyethylene PF400-SM (control) (Nursery Supplies Inc., Chambersburg, PA); 2) Western Pulp 7X7RD (WP) (Western Pulp Products Co., Jacksonville, TX); and 3) Kord 07.50 Fiber Grow Nursery Pot (Kord) (Texon Polymer Group Inc., Waco, TX). This one- factor completely randomized design experiment was conducted in Michigan, Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas, and West Virginia from July to October 2011. Substrate moisture content was determined by EC-5 moisture sensors (Decagon Devices, Inc., Pullman, WA) in 2 subreplicates per replicate. Plant water use (PWU) was calculated as water content after irrigation minus water content before the following irrigation period. All plants were irrigated to replace 100% PWU for all treatments. Irrigation was scheduled by a programmed data logger (CR1000, Campbell Scientific Inc., Logan, Utah 84321) with irrigation applications occurring twice per day starting at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. There were no differences between container types in plant growth and biomass according to the data from Michigan and Texas. There was no difference in PWU between WP, Kord, and control containers in the first 50 days, however, WP and Kord started showing differences in PWU from that of control containers after day 50. The PWU of WP and Kord was 544% and 297% higher than the control treatment based on the average PWU of entire experimental duration. The substrate temperature of WP and Kord were 29% and 20% lower than that of control containers on average. The electric conductivity (EC) and pH of the leachate were similar across the three treatments. Compression strength and water vapor barrier of Kord and WP decreased over the 4 months of exposure to outdoor growing conditions. Plant mortality was 13% in the plastic containers, and 2% in WP and Kord container. Overall, the WP and Kord containers had more moderate root zone temperatures and lower plant mortality; however, fiber containers required much more irrigation water than plastic container and were more likely to decrease their water vapor barrier and strength after one growing season.