somaconal

1. NURSERY MANAGEMENT

2. 6/2/2022 Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Technology, University of Colombo 2
• A place,
– which is initial establishment of seeds or
cuttings for propagation
– where plants are grown for transplanting,
for use as stocks for budding and grafting,
or for sale
What is a Nursery

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Why a nursery is required??
• A healthy nursery plant is the starting point of
a good crop cultivation
• Its productivity and sustainability is
dependent mainly on the quality of the starting
material

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 Production of seedlings of right and high quality for
successful plantation i.e. true - to – type.
 To supply back up for the plantation.
 provide healthy seedlings, in required number and at
right time
 Build up plant vigor at early stages of it’s life.
 Prevent from harmful P & D.
 Protect the seedlings from adverse climatic
conditions.

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Benefits of proper Nursery
Management
• Space requirement
• weed damage
• Cultural practices are easy and quick
• Protection
• Easy transportation
• Economic gain
• Pest and diseases

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Factors Affecting for
Area Selection
Agro Climatological factors Crop Factor
• Rainfall
• Altitude
• Soil type
• Crop type
• Crop duration
• Plant physiology

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Agro climatological factors -
Rainfall
Rainfall
Dry zone
Intermediate
zone
Wet zone
Raised
beds
Flat
beds
Sunken
beds

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Agro climatological factors -
Altitude
• Effect of day length
• Temperature
Elevation Temperature

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• Soil type
• Soil texture
• Soil structure
• Soil permeability
Agro climatological factors - Soil
• Soil PH ( 4.5-5.5)
• Soil EC
• Soil CEC
• Drainage
• Water holding
Capacity (WHC)

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Agro climatological factors for site
selection
• Suitable land
Sloppy land Easy to drainage
Flat land raise beds and drains
• Soil type
Sandy loam or loamy soil most suitable
High OM content unsuitable

11. 6/2/2022 Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Technology, University of Colombo 11
Agro climatological factors for site
selection
• Suitable land
Sloppy land Easy to drainage
Flat land raise beds and drains
• Soil type
Sandy loam or loamy soil most suitable
High OM content unsuitable

12. 6/2/2022 Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Technology, University of Colombo 12
Agro climatological factors for site
selection
• Suitable land
Sloppy land Easy to drainage
Flat land raise beds and drains
• Soil type
Sandy loam or loamy soil most suitable
High OM content unsuitable

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• Pots
• Germinators
• Nursery beds (flat/ raised / sunken)
• Propagators
- Single propagator
- Mist propagator
- Solar propagator
- Heat /hot bed propagator
Types of nurseries

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• Wet bed nursery
Duration:20-21 days
• Dry bed nursery
Duration:20-21 days
• Parachute nursery
Duration:14-16 days
Paddy nurseries

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• Dapog nursery
Duration:10-12 days
• Modified dapog nursery
Duration:10-14 days

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Importance of proper nursery management practices
 Production of seedlings of right and high quality for
successful plantation i.e. true - to – type.
 To supply back up for the plantation.
 provide healthy seedlings, in required number and at
right time
 Build up plant vigor at early stages of it’s life.
 Prevent from harmful P & D.
 Protect the seedlings from adverse climatic conditions.

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Proper nursery management practices
Healthy Crop
Cultivation

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• Needs a deep cultivation of the nursery land either by soil turning
plough (or by spade and subsequent 2-3 hoeing with cultivator).
• All the clots, stones and weeds from the field should be removed and
land should be leveled.
• Mix 6 kg well rotten and fine Farm yard manure/compost or leaf
compost or 500 g vermi compost per square meter and mix in the soil.
• Essential to prepare a proper drainage system around the nursery area
considering the slope of the land.
 To obtain fine texture
 To obtain better aeration
 To obtain better drainage
 To eradicate harmful P & D
Land preparation

19. • In nurseries, fence is essential to keep animals out of the site. Made from a
wide variety of materials, depending on terrain, location and animals to be
restricted.
• Wild pigs, rodents, dogs & peacocks are the most threatening animals that
damage the crops.
• Most agricultural fencing averages about 4 feet (1.2 m) in height.
• The following types are the most common on nurseries;
Plain wire fences.
Suspension fences.
Wire netting fences.
Electric fences.
• A proper fencing ensures security from outside threats as well as sometimes
act as a wind break.
Fencing

20. Nursery bed preparation.
• Length of the bed may be kept 3 to 5 meter
• width is restricted to 1 meter
• The beds are raised 15 to 20 cm high from the ground level.
• A space of 30 - 40 cm is left in between two beds.
• The beds should be prepared in the east and west direction and line
should be made from north to south direction on the beds.
Raised nursery beds

21. • Soil sterilization is a farming
technique that makes the soil free
from organism such as weeds,
bacteria, fungi and viruses.
• There are few ways to sterilize the
soil
– Steam Sterilization
– Solar rays Sterilization
– Chemical Sterilization
Soil sterilization

22. • In Steam sterilization we add steam to the soil to sterilize it
• In Solar Rays sterilization we cover the soil with a clear polythene
and let sun light sterilize the soil.
• In Chemical Sterilization we add chemicals like Methyl Bromide to
sterilize the soil.
• Importance:
– Soil sterilization provides secure and quick relief of soils from
substances and organisms harmful to plants such as bacteria, viruses,
fungi, Nematodes, weeds..
– All weed and weed seeds are eliminated
– Significant increase of crop yields
– Relief from soil fatigue through activation of chemical – biological
reactions
– Nutritive substances in the soil are tapped and made available for
plants

23. Sowing of seeds in the nursery
Broadcasting
Line Sowing

24. • Seed sowing means scattering of
seeds on the ground for growing.
• Two main methods of seed sowing
practiced:
1. Broadcasting
2. Broad or Line sowing
Seed sowing

25. 1. Broadcasting: It is the scattering of seeds by
hand all over the prepared field followed by
covering with wooden plank or harrow for
contact of seed with soil.
1) Quickest & cheapest method
2) Skilled labor is not needed.
3) Implement is not required,
4) Followed in moist condition.
2.Drilling or Line sowing: It is the dropping of
seeds into the soil manually
1) Seeds are placed at proper & uniform

26. Mulching in a nursery
• A mulch is a layer of material applied to the surface of an area of soil.
Its purpose is any or all of the following:
to conserve moisture
to improve the fertility and health of the soil
to regulate soil temperature
to reduce weed growth
• Organic mulch: grass clippings ,hay , rice straw which can easily
remove without disturbing seedlings.
• The application area should be clear of weeds, flat and well drained &
applied to a depth of 2″.
• Plastic mulch: Use in commercial nurseries, crops grow through slits or
holes in thin plastic sheeting.

27. • After sowing seeds in nursery beds , cover with
straw mulch.
• Daily watering is needed after applying a mulch.
• Remove mulch 3 days after germination
• Some examples for mulch required vegetables
-Chili, Brinjol,Egg plant ,Cabbage, Big onion
…..etc

28. Shading
• Shading should be done to protect the young seedlings from high
heat intensity in sunny areas and also from from heavy rain.
• High shade increases plant shoot growth.
• Shade can be provided by polythene nets or even grass.
• White shade is more effective than black for reducing surface heat.
• The shade should be removed some days before transplanting to
allow the seedlings to acclimatize to field conditions.

29. •Use good-quality shade cloth to provide durable and uniform
shade to the seedlings.
•Too much shade, for example in high plant densities, leads to
etiolated and elongated growth of the seedlings and makes
them weak and prone to fungal diseases.

30. • Watering is the most important factor in nursery management.
• The seedbed should be watered carefully with a fine stream of
water.
• After the plants are well established, watering should be done
thoroughly but not too often.
• It is advisable to irrigate seedlings in the morning and not in the
afternoon as the latter leaves the soil surface moist overnight, a
condition favouring damping off.
• For potted plants hand watering is done & for beds low pressure
irrigation by hose pipe is usually given.
Watering

31. • Some field crops should be watered early in the
morning.
Eg :- Big onion
• If it is not practiced properly, tip burning may
occur.
• Water quality is important for healthy plant
development.
• Saline water should be avoided unless there are
salinity tolerant crops

32. Weeding
• Weed control is an important component of producing quality
field-grown nursery stock. Weeds reduce the value of nursery crops
• They compete with crops for nutrients , light , water , space. some
vine weeds climb nursery crops, requiring excessive labor for hand
removal.
• Most serious are perennial weeds, which can be harvested with nursery
crops and infest the field where they are subsequently planted.
• And also weeds act as host plants for pests.
• For these reasons, effective weed control is important for producing high
quality marketable crops.

33. • Weeding methods can using in a nursing,
- Manual weeding-by hand or using a mamotie
- Mulching-organic or plastic mulch will suppress annual
weeds ,but generally will not control perennial weeds.
- Selection of herbicides for use in nursery stock- Chemical
rotation can reduce the buildup of a tolerant species
- Seeds may also be carried on clothing, such as boots or socks.
- Restricting access of all potentially contaminated
machinery, vehicles and personnel.
• Weeds having deep rooted rhizome corms
should remove completely before seeds sowing
because they are difficult to remove after
seeds germinate.

34. • Thinning is a term used in agricultural sciences to mean the removal of
some plants, or parts of plants, to make room for the growth of
others
• Vegetables need space to grow, but it's just not practical to start seeds
off with the desired final spacing.
• Plants started in pots are usually not a problem cause they can be
separated when it's time to transplant outdoors.
• Plants that are direct seeded in the ground and especially seeds of root
vegetables will need to be thinned out.
Thinning seedlings produces healthier plants and higher yields by:
– Allowing room for proper growth
– Reducing competition for water and nutrients from
nearby plants
Thinning out

35. Pest control
Grasshoppers, caterpillars, snails, leaf minors,aphids,
mealy bugs, thrips, ants, termites and many other
insects cause damages to nursery seedlings.
We use many pest control methods, include,
• Maintain sanitization – To prevent spreading and increasing pest population in
the field
• Proper use of correct pesticides (Eg;-Chloropyriphos, Thiomethoxam,
Pyrethrins, Growth regulators)
• Manual removing and removal of damaged plant parts –Prevent spreading of
pests and destroy them
• Sterilize the soil - To destroy many stages of the pest in the soil
• Plant repellant crops, such as Marrigold – To Prevent attraction of pests
Pest and disease control

36. Disease control
• Disease controlling is one of the major issues that we face
while managing a nursery.
• Many diseases affect on nursery plants are,
-Damping off
-Root diseases
-Bacterial leaf blight
-Leaf spots
-Leaf curl diseases
-Many virus diseases & etc.

37.  Apply fungicides – Mancozeb, Maneb, Thiophanate methyl
 Using certified seeds and seed treatment
Eradicative –Use hot water or Cl
Seed Treatment
Protective – Use Fungicides
 Sterilize soil – Apply captan ,Thiram
 Provide good air circulation & adequate light
 Promptly rogue out infected plants
 Avoid over watering to prevent root diseases
Eg:- Damping off
How to control nursery diseases?

38. • Maintains sanitization conditions helps to prevent spreading
of pest and diseases
• Soil sterilization is important to destroy soil born pathogens
and pests
• Application of insecticides effect to destroy insect pest and
their egg or secondary stages present in the soil which can
infect the seedlings in the later stages.
• Seed treatment helps to kill disease-causing agents on or
within the seed.
• Helps to get healthy and vigorous seedlings for field
planting.
Importance of controlling pest and diseases
as nursery management practices

39. • Hardening "Any treatment that makes the tissues firm
to withstand unfavorable environment like low temperature,
high temperature and hot dry wind.“
• In this process seedlings are given some artificial shocks at
least 7-10 days before uprooting and transplanting. These
shocks includes,
- Exposure to the full sunlight,
- Removal of all the shedding nets,
polythene sheets
- Irrigation is stopped slowly and slowly.
Hardening

40. Importance of Hardening
• Hardening improves the quality and modifies the nature of
colloids in the plant cell enabling them to resist the loss of
water.
• Hardening increases the presence of dry matter and regards
in the plants but decrease the percentage of freezable water
and transpiration per unit area of leaf.
• Hardened plants can withstand better against unfavorable
weather conditions like hot day winds or low temperature
• Hardening of the plants increases the waxy covering on the
leaves of cabbage.
• To reduce transplanting stress.

41. • Damping off
– This is a serious nursery disease found in all
most all nursery seedlings.
– This is fungal disease, causal organism Pythium
spp.
– Prolong moist conditions on nursery bed favors
the spreading of the disease.
– As an early measure to avoid the disease
watering should be done before 3 pm in the
evening.
Problems we found in our nursery due to improper
management practices

42. • Tip burning of onion seedlings
– A burned appearance was observed in onion leaf
tips few days after emergence.
– Reason for this condition is late watering of the
plants.
– Onion seedlings should be watered before 7 am in the
morning to wash off the dew on leaf tip so that the
sunlight will not burn the leaf tips.
• Taller seedlings
– In most of our nursery beds this condition was observed.
– Especially in knol-kohl seedlings.
– Main reason for this condition is too much of shade,
when there is no enough sunlight seedlings tend to grow
taller in order to find sunlight.
– Taller seedlings tend to topple over when transplanted.
– Therefore its important to remove shading for few hours
in morning and evening daily.

43. • Improper hardening of seedlings
– Seedlings should be hardened at least 7-10 days before
transplanting .
– Due to the continuous rainy weather proper hardening was not
carried out.
– Therefore some seedlings did not survive in the field and
seedlings showed higher susceptibility to stress conditions as
well
.
• Inadequate thinning out
– Very dense seedling growth was observed in most nursery beds
due to improper thinning out.
– Its an important operation to remove weak, unhealthy, diseased
seedlings few days after emergence.
– Thinning out facilitates balance light, air
and nutrients to each an every plant.

44. • Improper ways of watering
– At the seedling stage plants are very delicate
therefore watering should be done very
carefully.
– Watering should be done using a proper
watering equipment which produce very fine
water droplets.
– Otherwise seedlings may get damaged and
uprooted.