Leca in agriculture
The core expanded clay aggregate product is used in a wide variety of applications, offering lightweight strength, durability, and excellent thermal and drainage properties.
Leca in Agriculture
In agriculture, one of the most important sectors of our country, LECA expanded clay balls are available for wide use. The expanded clay ball LECA, which has an inorganic structure, is used in soilless agriculture, mixed with soil, seedling cultivation, steelwork, and ornamental plant cultivation. It offers various advantages while addressing some issues in existing productions through its distinct features. When used as a bare growing medium, it allows plants to grow faster as it enables them to reach nutrients and water more easily. In soil mixtures, thanks to its porous structure, it provides aeration of the soil and contributes to the strong development of plant roots
Leca in Soilless Agriculture
In our country, soilless agriculture and greenhouse cultivation have become increasingly widespread, primarily because chemicals used for many years have rendered our soil inefficient, as well as due to global climate change. There are some problems (supply, price, water retention, disease, product standardization, quality, etc.) of growing mediums such as cocopeat, perlite, rock wool, which are used in our country for soilless agriculture, which has become increasingly widespread in recent years. Due to these difficulties, people now prefer LECA ® (Expanded Clay Ball). Other advantages of using LECA ® (Expanded Clay Ball) as a growing medium in soilless agriculture;
• Clay balls, which are cooked and expanded at 1100 °C, are inorganic mediums; they do not contain bacteria or living organisms. With this feature, it eliminates the risk of disease that may arise from the environment.
• It allows plant roots to move freely and easily to reach nutrients, allowing the plant to take all supplements given during production due to the absence of another feeder. It reduces nutritional supplementation.
• It saves water with its water retention feature. Thanks to its cavity structure, it prevents heat from reaching the roots.
• LECA ® (Expanded Clay Ball) can be used for 5-6 years when other growing mediums are renewed every 2 years.
• It reduces time by half for the post-production cleaning and preparation for subsequent production in greenhouses and reduces the labor costs.
• Grain sizes (0-4mm, 3-8mm, 10-25mm) can be mixed proportionally according to the product and the root structure of the product.
