May 13, 2010, Amsterdam — The Sixth International Symposium on “Peat in Horticulture” will take place on Oct. 11 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The subject will be “Life in Growing Media.”

The full symposium program will be released in June.

The organizers aim at getting together peat and growing media producers, microbiologists, growing media quality managers, researchers, suppliers of growing media constituents and additives, experts from quality assurance organizations and growers interested in what life in growing media is all about.

Physical and chemical characteristics of growing media have been studied by many these past decades. Less attention has been given to biological, in particular, microbiological properties although fungi, bacteria and other organisms in growing media ( i.e., nematodes and sciarid fly larvae) can have a strong impact on horticultural crops. Such organisms may be beneficial, hazardous or indifferent to the crop, the environment or human health. For these reasons it seems important to have a better understanding of the biological side of growing media.

This IPS symposium is an initiative from International Peat Society (IPS) and the Dutch National Committee of IPS, and is recognized by the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS). It will be held at the Hotel Novotel Amsterdam City.