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Nursery management
Agricultural Economics (EC 201)
University of Kerala
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UNIT 2
2. Nursery Management
A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired age. A nursery is also a place where quality planting material is prepared and so a nursery requires almost all necessary farming inputs.
2 Types of nursery – Based on duration
Types of nursery:
**Based on duration
- Temporary/Nursery on site/Seasonal: -** ➢ This nursery is established for an ongoing project of landscaping, forest in a particular season OR ➢ A nursery which exists for a short period of time or up to completion of a targeted project. Seedlings in temporary nursery are utilized fully and not for any sale. Advantages ➢ Initial investment is low ➢ Cost of transportation is low. ➢ Transitional shock less ➢ No extra infrastructure needed ➢ Mortality of seedling minimum 2) Permanent/Commercial nursery: - ➢ A nursery which supplies planting material continuously. ➢ A permanent infrastructure is needed ➢ It comprises of irrigation, protected structure, transportation facility, office, store, mother block, nursery etc ➢ It requires skilled workers. ➢ It has record of sale and purchase, stock of mother plants etc. ➢ It’s an individual enterprise and serves as a profitable source of income.
2 Classes of Plant growth regulators
- Auxins- seen in apical portion of stem and root. Control growth through cell enlargement. eg. IAA, NAA, IBA,2,4 - D
- Cytokinins- Help in transport of Aminoacid
- Gibberelins-GA3- Control cell division &elongation.
- Ethylene/ripening hormone- helps in ripening:- ethephon, ethrel
- Abscisic acid/growth inhibitor- Abscission of leaf, response to environmental stress.
2 Growing medium
Growing media and Nursery Bed Preparation Growing medium The material in which plants grow in a pot is known as potting material and is commonly called the ‘growing medium’ or ‘potting medium’. Functions of a growing media ➢ Supply nutrients, air and water to the roots of the growing plants. ➢ It supports the plant physically and allows growth against the gravitational force. ➢ Facilitates the growth of roots of plants Characteristics of an ideal growing media ➢ An ideal growing medium should be porous and allows aeration ➢ It must have a good water-holding capacity ➢ It must be free from toxins, ailments and insect pests. ➢ The growing medium should respond well to the application of manures and fertilisers. ➢ It should be light in weight, easily available and have a suitable pH level. TYPES OF GROWING MEDIA SAND ❖ Porous, aerated and well drained due to large particle size ❖ Water holding capacity is less ❖ Generally mixed with soil and used as a well-drained porous medium
GARDEN SOIL
❖ Light and sandy soils are ideal growing media, while loamy, silt or clayey soils are not preferred due to poor aeration and stickiness. ❖ The soil contains both organic and inorganic matters. ❖ Soil is a common, universal, easily available and comparatively cheaper medium used in a nursery.
POTTING MIXTURE
Potting mixture is usually prepared by mixing different growing media in a particular ratio, to make it an ideal growing medium. which can be used to fill the pots and plug trays for planting rooted cuttings and young seedlings. ❖ For potting of rooted cutting and young seedlings: 1- or 2-part sand + 1-part loamy soil + 1-part peat moss or leaf mould. ❖ For potting general container grown nursery stock: 2-part sand + 4-part loamy soil + 2-part peat moss or leaf mould + 1-part well-rotted FYM
2 Site selection for nursery
1 ➢ Should be located in a pollution free environment. ➢ Should be away from brick kilns, smoke emitting industries and heavy traffics ➢ Adequate sunlight needed 2. Topography of land ➢ Topography of land must be even ➢ If undulating, must be levelled ➢ In hilly areas, land divided into levelled terraces 3. Soil ➢ Loam or sandy loam soil suitable ➢ pH- slightly acidic to neutral is ideal ➢ Good drainage necessary ➢ Proper water retention capacity
➢ Aerated, porous, fertile and productive soils preferred 4. Water ➢ Good quality water in adequate quantity must be available at the site. ➢ Site should be near to a natural source of water ➢ Water should be free from harmful salts, toxins or salinity. 5. Drainage ➢ Site should be free from waterlogging. ➢ Stagnation of water leads to poor development of roots. ➢ Proper drainage facilities must be provided. 6. Transportation and marketing ➢ Site should be connected with approach roads ➢ Convenient to establish the nursery near a market ➢ If market far, high transportation cost and damage to seedlings during transit. 7. Labour ➢ Nursery work is labour intensive ➢ Availability of skilled labour is important 8. Protection from wind and animals ➢ Strong fencing is needed to avoid grazing animals and thieves ➢ Wind breaks in south west direction needed to avoid losses from strong wind.
2 Preparation of nursery bed
Nursery beds are prepared in three ways, 1. Sunken Bed 2. Flat bed 3. Raised bed
Sunken Bed
- These types of beds are prepared in dry and windy areas.
- Sunk facilitates the deposition of water for longer time.
- It helps to conserve water.
- Provides protection to seedlings from wind
a trench around the bed, which is later used for irrigating the bed. ➢ Manures and fertilizers are added at this time. ➢ Spacing of 30–50 cm is kept between two rows of the bed to facilitate intercultural operations. ➢ Sow / plant the seedlings ➢ Irrigate and do mulching.
2 Procedure of Soil Solarization
Protection of seedlings in nursery
Soil treatment: Soil or any medium used for nursery should be free from pests or diseases. Different methods adopted for soil treatment
1. Soil solarisation 2. Steam treatment 3. Chemical treatment 4. Biological method Soil Solarisation ➢ It is a physical method where energy of sun is utilised for disinfecting the soil ➢ Generally followed in tropical and subtropical regions ➢ The temperature of the soil is raised so high that the infested pests and diseases gets controlled. Procedure
- Dig out the soil at the site where the beds are to be prepared.
- Remove stones, pebbles and weeds.
- Crush the clods and bring it to fine tilth 4. Irrigate the area thoroughly_._
- Cover the site with a black polythene sheet of 200 gauge thick
- Make the covering airtight by covering the margins with compressed wet mud
- After 5–6 weeks, remove the polythene sheet
2 Method of seed sowing
There are three methods for sowing seeds. They are, Broadcasting After the preparation of a nursery, spread the seeds on nursery beds and cover them with finely sieved rotten FYM or compost. This method has some disadvantages, as seeds cannot be placed at equal distance. This might require a large number of seeds in comparison to other methods of seed sowing.
Line sowing (shallow trenches on bed) It is the best method of sowing seeds in a nursery.. Sowing in lines improves germination and quality of seedlings. In this method, each seed gets independent space, and hence, grows healthy and vigorously. In this method, the diseased seedlings and weeds can be managed easily.
Seed sowing in plug trays / Seed sowing in pro-trays High value and hybrid seeds are preferred to be sown in plug trays (pro-trays) instead of open field nursery beds. Pro-trays are made of soft plastic having shallow plugs. These plugs are filled with planting medium. Coco peat, a by-product of the coir industry having a high water-holding capacity, is commonly used as a medium in pro-trays. Procedure:- Small depressions (0 cm) are made at the centre of the plugs with fingertips for the sowing of seeds. The seeds are placed in the depressions and covered. Water is sprinkled by a water can to maintain moisture.
2 Potting depotting & repotting
Potting, depotting and repotting Potting It refers to the transferring of plants from seed bed or polythene bags to pots containing potting mixture. Potting of plants involves various steps. (i) Selection of the pot
Press the mixture around the stem firmly and make it compact. Potting of deciduous house plants is done in February–March, whereas evergreen plants in July–August. Precautions ➢ Care must be taken that the root ball of plant is not pressed too hard as it will break and damage the roots. ➢ Water the plant gently with a sprinkler can, immediately after planting. ➢ Place the potted plant in a cool shady place for settlement. ➢ Stake the plant with a bamboo stick, if the stem is long or weak. Depotting It is the removal of a plant from a pot for planting on ground soil, bed or in another pot. As roots are sensitive and prone to injuries, care needs to be taken while depotting a plant. It is better to depot the plant along with the soil attached to the root system. This soil, if needed, can be removed carefully after depotting. Procedure The pot must be watered before depotting. The pot is lifted by one hand, the palm of the other hand spread over the top of the soil holding the stem between the second and third finger, and the thumb along the side of the pot. The pot is then turned upside down. If necessary, a gentle tap is given on the rim of the inverted pot against a solid base or on the edge of bench to loosen the earth ball. The whole earth ball, with intertwining roots of the plant, will come out as a single piece and kept outside carefully. Before transferring the plant in a new pot, the lower old and finer roots along with some old potting mixture are removed Repotting It is transferring or transplanting a plant from one pot to another. It is the planting of a depotted plant into another pot. Repotting is done with the following Objectives: (i) Changing the existing small old pot or exhausted potting mixture to a new one. (ii) For healthier growth of house plants, repotting and transplanting of established plants is done once in a year. (iii) Repotting facilitates pruning of overgrown roots, which in turn ensures better survival of the plant.
(iv)Bigger size of the pot provides a larger space for root development.
Procedure Depending upon the plant type, repotting is done in February–March or just before the onset of monsoon. Cut the decayed, dead, dried or twisted roots neatly with sharp secateurs The excess and old soil is gently removed from all round. The pot is filled with fresh potting mixture, and then, watering is done. Place the plant in a new pot at the same depth in the soil at which it was in the old pot.
2 Hardening of plants in nursery
Hardening of plants in nursery Hardening of seedlings is nothing but withholding of water to nursery beds for few days before removing them for transplanting. Hardening of seedlings is necessary to prepare them for withstanding transplanting shock. It is also practised in situations where preparation of land is delayed and the seedlings become over-sized.
Nursery management
Course: Agricultural Economics (EC 201)
University: University of Kerala
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