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Floating Plant Mats Help Clean Logoons
Here's a new way to pull excess nutrients out of farm ponds and lagoons.
  Floating "plant mats" are being tested by researchers at the University of Georgia. The idea is to make floating mats out of coarse coconut shells stretched between a plastic foam frame.
  St. Augustine grass, common bermudagrass, Tifton 85 bermudagrass, and giant reed are all being tested in the mats. The first three grass mats can all be used as sod when removed from the water. The giant reed has potential as a biomass source for biofuel.
  The researchers are also planning to try the idea to remove nutrients from fish ponds, citrus greenhouse waste water ponds, and Florida canals, where water quality is poor.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, USDA-ARS Southeast Watershed Research Unit, Bob Hubbard, Rainwater Rd., Tifton, Ga. 31784 (ph 229 386-3893; fax 229 386-7294; hubbard@tifton.usda.gov; www.ars.USDA. gov).


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2006 - Volume #30, Issue #5