Producing Nursery Producing Nursery CropsCrops

Producing Nursery Producing Nursery CropsCrops

What are the operational procedures What are the operational procedures used for container and field used for container and field

nurseries?nurseries?

Key Questions• What is the importance of nursery

production in Pakistan ?• Why are marketing and product mix

important to nurseries?• What are the differences between

container and field-grown plants?• Why is nutrition monitoring important

in producing container-grown plants?• How does temperature limit the

production of plants?

What is the importance of nursery production in

Pakistan

• Nursery production is considered relatively new

• Top 4 Nursery InHazara• Fruit Nursey Fasrm Haripur, Haji

Abdul Salam Nursery Farm , Awan Nursery Farm , Gulshan Nursery Farm

Why are marketing and product mix important to

nurseries?• Container Nurseries

– Determines the propagation needs of nursery

– General rule- 70% of plants grown should be staples of industry

– Specialty nursery- only grow one or two species

• Field Nursery– Typical crops:

• Shade trees- red maple most popular• Flowering trees- crab apple most popular• Evergreen and deciduous shrubs

– Specialize in growing seedlings.

What are the differences between container and field-

grown plants?

Container-Grown Production

• Propagation– Important factors of media:

• Firmly hold cuttings• Free of insects and diseases• Good water-holding capacity• Excellent aeration and drainage

– Aeration- exchange or air in the soil with the air in atmosphere

– Container- provides protection for plant root system

– Container selection criteria:• Adequate drainage• Hold sufficient volume of media• Lightweight• Easy to handle• Durable• Free of toxic substances• Prevent root circling

• Container selection and pruning– Must consider consumer appeal– Root circling- root systems become too long

for their containers– Prevention of root circling:

• Air root pruning• Bottomless containers• Copper compounds

– Pruning may be necessary to induce growth and to remove undesirable growth and damaged or dead stems.

Watering C-G Plants• Determine water needs by:

– Weighing pots– Feeling growing medium– Using indicator plants that readily

show water stress

• Water in early morning to minimize evaporation loss

• Check irrigation systems regularly for uniformity.

• Cyclic irrigation, applying water in two or more applications, conserves water.

Container beds• Stand alone plot that contains only

container plants• Factors to consider:

– Size of plant being produced– Container spacing requirements– Production practices

(pruning/fertilization)

– Weight of containers– Irrigation design– Coverage

• Cover beds (ground) with:– Black polyethylene-short life– Ground cover cloth- 3 to 5 yr life– Gravel- allows weed growth– Crushed seashells- plants root into bed

Overwintering C-G plants

• Roots are not as cold-hardy as shoots• Container temperature is less than 5

degree F than air temperature• Drying out of roots is a problem in winter• Methods of cold protection:

– Crowding and wrapping– Cover with whit polyethylene or winter blanket– Overwintering houses

Pest Control• Scout- individual trained to

identify plant pests• Weed control is major problem,

use pre-emergence herbicide• Eliminate alternate host for other

pests

Field Nursery Production

• Check fields to determine nutritional requirements and need for soil amendments

• Test soil so materials can be added during site preparation

• May require fumigation of soil

Plant Spacing• Distance between row depends

on:– Marketable size– Harvesting equipment– General rule: 3 feet per inch of stem

diameter at harvest

Liner selection and planting

• Seedling sold by stem diameter or cost per tree

• Height from few inches to three feet• Topping- increases caliper size and uniformity• Stubbing- cutting seedling down to stub to

regenerate a new trunk• Vegetatively propagated liners can be

purchased in cuttings, grafted plants, tissue culture produced plants– Most growers prefer trees grown on their own roots

Production Systems• Balled & Burlapped (B&B)- trees

dug keeping ball or soil around root system, then covered with cloth material– Advantages:

• Plants can be held for limited time• Digging and transplanting season is

extended• Less transplanting shock occurs

• Mechanical harvesting- tree gathered by mechanical means, like tree spade

• Bare root (BR)- trees dug without taking soil; may have more transplant shock than container grown liners– Advantages:

• Lightweight plants• Economical shipping• Initial cost per plant is lower

– Disadvantages:• Exposure to environmental extremes damages

fine roots• Handling problems• Field Survival

• Gro-bag- cylinder of porous fabric with plastic bottom– Prevents formation of tap roots, allowing

more of root system to be harvested– Quicker harvest than B&B

• Pot-in-pot- planted container placed in a holder pot– Combination of container and field production

Fertilization• Steps to take to implement fertility

program:– Determine soil types– Perform soil tests– Interpret results– Make corrective applications

• Soil sampling- should be a representative sample

• Incorporate nutrients prior to planting:– P, K, Ca, Mg– Lime- to raise pH

• Tissue analysis:– Monitor plant nutritional levels– Sample during fall- stored levels determine

the spring growth– Sample mature leaves

• Nitrogen requirements:– Deciduous trees- 250 lb./N/yr/acre– Narrowleaf evergreens- retain needle-like

leaves through the winter, require 200.n/N/yr/acre

– Broadleaf evergreens- do not have needle-like leaves, but retain leaves through the winter, require 100 lb./N/yr/acre

– Apply nitrogen in split applications

Pruning• Helps control growth and shape of

nursery stock• Removes dead, diseased, or damaged

stems• Serves to control plant size and remove

weak areas in branching pattern• Root pruning removes outward root tips

to encourage plants root system to remain within a small area.– Enables easier transplanting

Irrigation• Especially important during

transplanting and establishment• Reduce production time• Overhead irrigation- wastes water

by up to 25%

Pest Control

• Regular scouting is imperative• Weed control is major concern

Why is nutrition and monitoring important in producing C-G plants?

• Fertilization of C-G plants– Most growing media contain minimal

nutrients– Types of fertilizers used:

• Pre-plant amendments– Dolomitic limestone- provides Ca and Mg and

neutralizes acidity– Add 5-8 lbs per cubic yard of media– Ideal pH for most plants is 5.0-6.0

– Micronutrients• Required in small quantities, but essential• Prevent chlorosis and stunting• Application usually good for one year

• Controlled release fertilizer- nutrient becomes available to plant over extended period of time– Media temperature between 70-80

degrees F– N,P,K needed in a ratio of 3-1-2– Best to mix into media

• Quick release fertilizer– Readily soluble and immediate nutrition– 10-10-10 is an example

• Liquid feed system- Concentrated fertilizer mixed in a holding tank, then diluted and injected into an irrigation system– Liquid fertilizer- fluid in which the plant

nutrients are in true solution– Used as supplement to controlled release

fertilizers

Monitoring Nutrition of C-G plants

• Use to determine excessive or deficient nutrient status of media

• Two tests to perform: pH and soluble salts

• Pour-through method- simple method of sampling media fertility– Advantages

• Short time for extraction• Conducted in the field• No medium handled• No specialized equipment for extraction• Does not rupture controlled release

capsules

• Interpreting media analysis, consider:– Nutritional requirement of species

tested– Stage of crop growth– Time of year– Fertilization program– Growing medium– Other environmental and cultural

factors

• Test every two week & plot data– High soluble salt levels means water

frequently to leach out nutrients– Low soluble salt levels means it is time to

fertilize– High pH means inject acids:

• Sulfuric acid• Iron sulfate

– To raise pH add:• Dolomitic limestone• Calcium carbonate• Hydrated lime

– Can use foliar analysis• Leaf tissue test to diagnose nutrient deficiency

symptoms

Why does temperature limit the production of plants?

• Cold, winter temperatures in particular cause two concerns– Overwintering- How will you carry the

plant through the winter– Length of growing season- cold

temps shorten the growing season