Resource Book on Horticulture Nursery Management

6.2.3 Input Management in Mass Plant Production
Rooting Media: The rooting medium is an important input for nursery production.
The rooting media should have appropriate physical and chemical properties for better
germination and root development. The media should be even in texture. It must be free
from living organisms and pathogens. The media should be firm enough to hold planting
material properly. Abundantly available rooting media are sand, coco peat, perlite,
vermiculite, leaf mold, sphagnum moss, pumice, sawdust and wood shavings etc.
Seeds: Seeds are important factors influencing the yield potential. Seeds determine
yield potential, adaptation to environmental conditions, and resistance to insect pests and
disease. Seed selection is a critical management decisions in crop production. The cost of
seed stocks usually is less than 5 to 10 percent of total production costs.
Water Management: Water is an important resource not only to nursery growers
but to all humans. The leaching losses of soil nutrients can be reduced by controlling
application of excess of water to the plants. Micro, overhead and pulse irrigation method
are the methods of watering larger nursery area.
Micro-irrigation applies small amounts of water to the root zone area only. It also
promotes compact root development which is important for subsequent tree survival in
the landscape. Drip irrigation is often avoided in container production as drip lines cause
difficulty in working around and moving containers. Drip or trickle system reduces the
wastage of water by 60-70 per cent.
Overhead irrigation is designed to cover a large area. These are the cheapest
irrigation systems. However, this system brings about uneven water distribution which
slows down the plant growth. It encourages disease spread due to humidity. Wastage of
water through runoff is more in this type of irrigation.
Pulse irrigation saves water in container production. Traditionally water was applied
in containers by a system which wetted the rooting medium by a long but single
application of water. Wastage and runoff was large in this type of application. In case of
pulse irrigation, water is applied for about 15 minutes, four or more times with a pause of
30 to 60 minutes between each application. It reduces water wastage by about 30% and
also minimizes runoff from containers. During the pause, water fills in the pores and also
wets hard-to-wet components of the medium. The medium is saturated before excess
water drains from the pots.
Nutrient Management: Nursery growers should test soils/media each year (midsummer)
to determine nutrient requirement of nursery beds for the following year.
Usually in nursery beds normal fertilizers like urea, Diammnium Phosphate (DAP) and
Muriate of Potash are applied. Fertilizers should be given in two spilt doses i.e. basal and
top dressing (after 10 days). The application is done by broadcasting or foliar spray @
0.5 to 2 per cent. Fertilization should be avoided just before transplanting. This causes
diversion of plant energy toward root development and causes a negative impact on
transplanted seedlings.
Common source of nutrients in nursery is FYM, compost, vermicompost, leaf mold,
cakes etc. Besides, primary nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus are essentially applied
through straight fertilizers as these play an important role in root and shoot development.
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