Introduction

Introduction

Input management is important skill in horticultural nursery

management results in to higher returns from the nursery

business. Basic inputs used in a nursery are:

1.Soil/growth Media 2. Seeds 3. Light 4. Irrigation water 5.Skilled

& unskilled labors 6.Temperature, Humidity 7.Gas exchange and

8. Electricity.

Preferences of inputs vary with crop, climate and soil conditions.

Growth medium is an important input for mass propagation of nursery

plants. It should have appropriate physical and chemical properties which

could promote better seed germination and root development.

Desirable characters for nursery media:

Even in texture,

Free from living organisms and pathogens,

Firm enough to hold planting material properly.

Good aeration and water holding capacity.

Low cost , easy availability and storage.

Rooting Media:

Popular Growth/Rooting Media

Soil

Sand

Leaf mold

Pumice

Vermiculite

Sawdust

Coco peat

Perlite

Sphagnum moss

Wood shavings 

Soil Sand

Coco Peat Sphagnum Moss

PerliteVermiculite

Selection of Seed is critical management decisions in crop

production. Cost of seed input is normally less than 5 to 10

percent of total production costs. Proper precautions and seed

treatments with chemicals helps to increase crop yield.

Seeds are an important resource as they determine,

• Quality and quantity of the yield.

• Adaptation to environmental conditions.

• Resistance to insect, pests and disease.

Seeds

Irrigation Water

Water is an important input in mass propagation of nursery

plants. Nurseries are irrigated by various methods depending

upon the availability and quality of water, Application systems of

water and availability of electricity, etc.

The different methods of irrigation used in a nursery are:

1. Micro-irrigation,

2. Overhead Irrigation,

3. Pulse irrigation and

4. Open flooding/furrow Irrigation

Availability of good quality water is very important for a nursery

business. Sources of water include lakes, ponds, streams, wells,

and municipal water supply. Lakes, ponds and streams are

cheapest sources of water.

Following criteria must be considered before selecting water

source for nursery:

1. Reliability of Source: Duration, quality and quantity of water.

2. Level of contaminants and debris in water and

3. Environmental/ legal limitations for water use from the source.

Quality of Irrigation Water:

Nutrients

• Testing of soil for nutrient status is necessary to decide

application of fertilizer doses to media.

• Nutrient are applied through straight fertilizers or mixed

fertilizers and in single dose or split doses or foliar spray @ 0.5

to 2 per cent. Fertilizer application before transplantation is

avoided.

• FYM, compost, vermi-compost, leaf mold, cakes are organic

sources of nutrient. Primary nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus

and potassium are applied through chemical fertilizers which

are required for plant root and shoot development.

Soil

Characteristics for good nursery soil:

• Fertile, well-drained with high water-holding capacity, high

organic matter content (3-5%) and easy tillage. land with less

than 5% slope without stones and hardpans in the root zone.

• Soil for repotting of plants should be sandy-clay to clay-loam

which will hold roots while uprooting the plants. While bare-

rooted plants are planted in light-textured soils.

• Desirable soil can be imported from outside places for

container based plant production.

Labor /Manpower

• Nursery is a labour intensive business which requires both skilled

and unskilled laborers. Number of employees needed in the

nursery will depend on size of nursery business.

• Skilled labour are required for specialized activities such as

budding, grafting, layering, propagation, poly house maintenance,

marketing, training, pruning etc.

• Unskilled labor is required for bag filling, sowing, bed preparation,

tillage, weeding, spraying, and maintaining sanitation, etc.

Light

• Light is critical for photosynthesis and healthy plant

development. However, too much light causes canopy

scorching and loss in quality and quantity of stock.

• Partial shade can be useful to young nursery and ornamental

indoor plants. Shade net houses are used for partial shades to

seedlings. Shade net houses must be at least 2 m in height.

• Higher density shade cloths and nets (60 to 80 per cent shade)

are used for young seedlings while lower densities (30 to 40

per cent) are used for relatively older plants.

Temperature

• Temperature for optimum plant development is 25–35° C.

Air temperatures above 40°C and below 20° C retard the

growth of plants.

• Greenhouses and poly houses can maintain optimum

temperatures for plant growth. Humidity can be increased

by using foggers or temperature can be deduced by

increasing ventilation.

• Temperatures need to be carefully monitored and

maintained in the recommended range during seed

germination, rooting of cuttings and graft union formation.

Gas Exchange

• Respiration occurs during rooting of cuttings, union of grafts

and germination of seedlings. Proper gas exchange is

important for good root development. Atmospheric air contains

about 0.03% CO2 and 21% O2.

• Plants perform better under higher CO2 concentrations up to

3% levels. CO2 level can be monitored in poly house. But

CO2 levels can drop in enclosed poly houses which reduces

growth and production. Therefore such poly houses must be

ventilated to maintain CO2 concentration and exchange.

Electricity

• Electricity is necessary in nurseries to operate water pumps,

Spray pumps, irrigation systems, etc

• Most of the instruments in a greenhouse like ventilators,

heating cables, electrical balances and data loggers require

electricity for their operations.

• Nonconventional systems of electrification like solar, wind,

biogas powered systems can also be used for operations, if

electricity is not available in nursery.