Resource Book on Horticulture Nursery Management

Grafting: The process of inserting a part of one plant into or onto another in a way that
the two will unite and continue growth as a single plant.
Hardening: Treating plants to make them more resistant to adverse environmental
conditions, usually by exposing them gradually to increased light, temperature
changes, and drought.
Plant propagation: Increase in numbers or perpetuation of a species by reproduction.
Seed: A mature ovule. Contains the embryo, endosperm (only remnants in most dicots),
and the seed coat.
6.4 Point To Remember
� Nursery is a selected site where plants are multiplied on a large scale.
� Proper tillage operations help to check weed and insect attack in a nursery.
� Seed should be sown at proper time and in proper container with good growing
media.
� Location, water availability, orientation are the important points to be considered at
the time of greenhouse construction.
� Temperatures, sunlight, CO2, relative humidity are the important environmental
factors to be considered in greenhouse cultivation.
� The tissue culture plants need acclimatization or hardening before they are
transferred in the field.
� The rooting media should have appropriate physical and chemical properties for
better germination and root development.
6.5 Self Check Questions
� Define nursery and describe the factors necessary to be considered for the selection
of site for nursery development.
� Enlist the various nursery operations and describe them in brief.
� What are the types of plant propagation structures used in a plant nursery?
� What is the protocol for hardening of nursery plants?
6.6 Do It Yourself
� Visit a nursery and collect information about site selection, input resources and
quality standards of various nursery plants.
� Visit to plant propagation structures in nursery, measure the dimension of various
structures like its height, width and calculate the area.
� Visit a tissue culture unit and collect information about the hardening process in
nursery plants.
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