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ICL's popular Hort Science Masterclasses return this autumn with two essential events exploring sustainable plant production for the future.
Aimed at bedding, herbaceous and HNS growers, each session is packed with actionable insights, product innovations, and expert guidance to help you grow smarter, leaner and more sustainably.
Key sessions include:
Nutrition and how to grow smarter: ICL technical manager Andrew Wilson.
Sustainable growing media – what comes next: A vital discussion on future-proofing your substrate.
Robust vine weevil control: A 30-minute session with ICL technical manager for controls Sam Rivers, focusing on sustainable solutions.
Finding solutions to new and future problems: ICL sales manager Adrian Thirtle-Watts will provide updates on innovations such as the new Fibagro® Advance woodfibre grades, the award-winning Fibagro Advance Pot Topper (FT)*, and ICL’s biodegradable fertiliser coatings ahead of impending legislation.
The sessions will be held at:
RHS Wisley on Wednesday 15 October (South)
Brockholes Conference Centre near Preston, on Wednesday 12 November (North)
Regional highlights
Hort Science South (RHS Wisley): Includes a timely update from the RHS transition to peat-free fellowship research by Dr. Raghavendra Prasad, followed by a guided tour of the Wisley gardens.
Hort Science North (Brockholes): Features guest speaker Peter Marshall, CTO of Volta Eco Systems, on ‘Growing your energy storage and reducing operation costs’.
Book your free place now!
The Masterclass sessions commence at 10am (with registration and coffee from 9:30 am) and conclude at 2pm, including lunch. With BASIS points available, these events are free to attend – but places are strictly limited.
Register for South
Register for North
Product focus: Five new peat-free mixes launch
ICL has launched five new customised Levington Advance Sustain peat-free mixes, featuring their award-winning Fibagro Advance woodfibre.
ICL was pleased to introduce five new customised Levington® Advance Sustain peat-free mixes at the recent Four Oaks Trade Show, tailored for propagation, bedding, liners, CNS, and strawberry production – along with a peat-reduced mix for container-grown Christmas trees.
The Fibagro advantage
“These future-proofed sustainable base mixes, based on Fibagro Advance, are designed to be more cost-effective and less reliant on coir and bark – which are in limited supply,” says Andrew Wilson, ICL technical manager.
Manufactured from FSC®-certified by-products from the UK timber industry, Fibagro Advance is a highly sustainable input within a circular economy.
Wilson explains that woodfibre is the future for sustainable growing media. "While barks tend to be variable, Fibagro Advance is an engineered product," he says. "Using thermo-mechanical processing, ICL is producing four highly consistent grades, allowing us to blend them to create the optimum physical properties for different crop/cropping systems."
The new mixes
Propagation mix: Contains Fibagro Advance Super Fine, blended with bark and coir, for great flowability.
Bedding mix: Contains Fibagro Advance Fine and Standard plus coir and bark, improving the air-water balance in smaller cells.
Liner mix: Uses two Fibagro Advance grades to improve rooting and simplify water management.
CNS mix: Contains Fine and Coarse grades plus coir and bark, offering improved water holding, rooting, and flowability.
Strawberry mix: Coir-free and based on Fibagro Advance woodfibre. ICL is now trialling this in large-scale vertical farming systems.
- Christmas tree mix: A new peat-reduced mix ideally suited to container production in 7.5-10 litre pots.
Enhanced performance
All six sustainable mixes contain enhanced levels of H2Gro to improve water management, Micromax Premium for long-lasting trace elements, and ICL’s base fertiliser plus Osmoform High N.
These base mixes can be further tailored with various premix additives, including Osmocote® controlled release fertiliser, Lalguard M52 bioinsecticide, Prestop® biofungicide and Vitalnova® TriBoost biostimulant.
