PINEPEAT from Pinus roxburghii (Chir Pine) foliage

• Fibrillated pine needles utilized to prepare pinepeat. • Higher growth parameters observed in pinepeat than conventional growing media. • Pine, a waste, established an alternative, renewable, and reliable growing media. Pinus roxburghii commonly known as Chir Pine is a coniferous tree native to the Himalayas. Pine needles shed from pine trees decay very slowly, form a carpet on the forest floor and are a major cause of frequent forest fires. The abundantly available unutilized pine needles are rich source of lignocellulosic biomass, goes waste, and its management through sustainable utilization has been a challenge. In the present study, pine needles were fibrillated by using laboratory disc refiner without any chemical treatment under different refiner passes from 0.10 to 0.40 mm to prepare pinepeat. The biomasses under different refiner passes were characterized for pH (6.2–6.5), freeness (481–821 ml), water absorbency (350–580 %), drainage time (9.10–16.99 sec), carbon (45.08 %), nitrogen (0.93 %), hydrogen (6.49 %), sulfur (0.13 %) content and C/N ratio (50.86 %). Anatomical characteristics of pine needle and pinepeat were also examined. The study reported significant change in morphology of pine needles after refining treatment wherein tissues turned into flattened, fibrillated and separated in short groups, increasing the surface area of the fragmented biomass. Application of processed pinepeat as amendments in nursery substrates was further assessed. The significantly higher growth parameters in pinepeat in comparison to conventional growing media suggests pinepeat as an additional environmentally sustainable choice for nursery operations in near future. The utility of pinepeat in this way is imperative for environment waste management and would turn into an alternative, renewable, and reliable growing media as amendments in nursery substrates.