With the continuous support of modern technology in the field of agricultural planting, rock wool, as an important hydroponic cultivation substrate, has received more and more recognition and has been widely used in agricultural greenhouse planting.

UPuper® Rockwool hydroponic substrate is mainly cultivated for medical crops, vegetables and flowers. The main products are seedling plugs, rockwool cubes, and growing slabs. The Seedling plugs are designed for seed propagation or cuttings and cloning plants. The rock wool cube is planted for large seedling growing. The growing slabs are usually used for the final stage of planting. At the same time, these products can also be used together to participate in the complete crop growth cycle.

Sowing seedlings is the basis of plant cultivation. As the old saying, "The strong seedlings mean there will be a good harvest". The sowing and cultivation process of seeds plays a decisive role in the vigorous growth of plants.

UPuper® seedling plugs have ideal water and air balance which can promote the growth of seedlings and provide a favourable environment for seedlings. At the same time, there is basically no difference in the individual seedling plugs, which can help the seeds emerge more uniformly. Using UPuper® seedling plugs as a hotbed for crop seedlings can greatly improve the emergence rate and uniformity of growth of seeds.

But do you know? UPuper® rockwool plug has three different product forms, namely: round seedling plug, trapezoidal seedling plug, and square seedling plug. What are the different characteristics of these three different forms of seedling plugs? How should growers choose? Let us find out today.

①UPuper® round rockwool plug

UPuper® round seedling plug is the most widely used rockwool plug product. It is designed for the groove on the top of the plug. When we look at the round plug from the top, we can see that the groove part is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. The groove is inverted and conical.

In the process of mechanized seedling raising, the adsorbed seeds can fall to the center of the small groove, one hole for one seed, precise sowing, and the groove space on the top of the UPuper® round seedling plug is large, which is very suitable for sowing cucumber, tomato, sweet Peppers and other seeds of different sizes. After sowing, a layer of vermiculite can be covered on the surface of the seedling plug for moisturizing.

It is worth mentioning that UPuper® round seedling plugs are finished products alone and need to be used with seedling trays. The structure is uniform and firm, and the shape and size of individuals are uniform. It is suitable for mechanical positioning and grasping planting.

②UPuper® trapezoidal seedling plug

The upper part of UPuper trapezoidal seedling plug is connected to form a plate. The bottom is an inverted ladder design. When we look at the trapezoidal seedling plug from the bottom, we can see that the bottom of each seedling plug presents an inverted ladder structure with a wide top and a narrow bottom. There is a certain interval between the bottoms of each individual, which can avoid root entanglement during the seed growth process.

When sowing, UPuper® trapezoidal seedling plug also has the characteristics of one hole, one seed, and saving seeds. But its flexibility is stronger than the UPuper® round seedling plug. The top of which is a cylindrical hole, the hole is deeper, planting seeds without vermiculite cover.

UPuper® trapezoidal seedling plug has two different sizes, different models can be selected according to different crop growth needs, and it is also suitable for cutting seedlings.

UPuper® trapezoidal seedling plug has the characteristics of a "two-in-one tray and substrate". It can be split and used, or directly placed on a tray that can store water for sowing, or used without seedling trays to reduce costs.

③UPuper® square seedling plug

Compared with the above two kinds of seedling plugs, UPuper® square seedling plugs have a larger volume, which means that it can provide more water, fertilizer and growth space for the plant roots, which can promote the plant roots to grow faster and stronger.

UPuper® square seedling plugs are finished separately and have individual packaging. This packaging can make the rock wool plug have better water holding capacity, and at the same time guide the vertical extension of the plant root system, which can be easily moved during the early stage of use. In the later planting process, the outer film can be torn off and the square seedling plug can be transplanted into the growth block with matching holes, or it can be directly transplanted on the growth block without holes, which is more flexible.

In terms of applicability, compared with UPuper® round seedling plug and trapezoidal plug. The square seedling plug is less used for sowing seedlings, but more conducive to cutting propagation, such as roses and medical hemp plants cutting or cloning propagation.

UPuper® square seedling plugs can be placed directly on trays that can store water or different types of plugs can be selected for use together. When using the plugs, a cover can be added to grow seedlings to increase the humidity of the plugs. To increase the speed of seedlings.

The different shapes of UPuper® three seedling plugs make them suitable for planting in different scenarios, and growers can choose according to their actual needs.