LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET No.
1
TLE 9-AGRICULTURE
Quarter 4
PREPARE MATERIALS, TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT FOR NURSERY WORK
TLE-AFAC9NWIIIa-e-1
Name of Student
Learning Area/Grade TLE 9-AGRICULTURE
Level
Date
I. Introductory Concept
There are several materials needed in plant propagation activities. There are
bamboos, wood, poles, nets and others needed in the construction. Once the
nursery operation starts, materials such as potting medium, containers, plant
materials shall be included as its stocks.
II. Objectives:
At the end of this learning activity sheet, you should be able to:
3.1 Store plant debris and waste material produced during nursery activities
according to nursery /OHS procedure
III. Activities
Vocabulary Lists
Aerobic- Living or occurring only in the presence of oxygen
Afforestation- It is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an
area where there was no forest.
Effective Microorganisms (EM)-It is a system of odorless composting,
where carefully selected, "effective" microbes or "EM" are used to decompose
organic kitchen waste.
Molasses- A thick, brown, sweet liquid that is made from raw sugar.
Phototropic- An organism obtaining energy from sunlight to synthesize
organic compounds for nutrition
Information Sheet
BASIC STOCK CONTROL PROCEDURES
The supply of these materials must be sufficient for the nursery to become
operational.
A good nursery owner or manager should know the number of its supplies or
stocks.
Initially, it will take a considerable effort to compile a stock list, but this should
be done before investing an amount of money in either purchasing or acquiring
additional stocks
Some of these are the following:
a. Soil-This is a very common easily available and cheaper medium used in the
nursery. It contains both organic and inorganic matter. The organic part is the
residues of living and dead parts of plants, animals and microbes. The liquid part of
the soil is the solution containing water, dissolved minerals as well as oxygen.
b. Sand- It is the result of weathering effect on parent rocks. The usual size of sand is
from 0.05 to 2.0 mm. Sand is generally used in plant propagation media. The sand
used in plastering is very much suitable for rooting of cuttings.
c. Peat- This consists of the residues from a marsh swamp. Vegetative peat moss is
available but should be broken into fine parts before use in mixtures or as media. It
contains some organic nitrogen and is favorable for newly rooted cuttings.
d. Sphagnum Moss- It is the dehydrated remains of acid hog plants and has three
genera, growing naturally in damp humid forest lands. It is relatively sterile, light in
weight and has a very high water holding capacity. Normally, it absorbs and holds
water 20 times to its weight.
e. Vermiculite- This is the micaceous or crumb mineral which expands significantly
when heated. Chemically it is hydrated magnesium, aluminum, iron, silicate. When
expanded it is very light in weight. It is neutral in reaction and has good buffering
properties. It is insoluble in water.
Vermiculite is available in 4 Grades, one of which is the Horticultural Grade No.
2 which should be used for rooting and No. 4 for seed germination.
f. Perlite-This is gray white material having volcanic origin. It is neutral. It has no
buffering reaction and it contains no mineral nutrients.
g. Leaf Mold- It is prepared by using fallen leaves of various tree species available
locally, eg Ficus, Ipil-ipil, Madre de cacao etc. it is prepared by stacking a few layers
of leaves then covering them with a thin layer of soil and cow or chicken dung.
Some live culture of decomposing organisms such as bokashi is added to hasten the
process of decomposition. The medium is ready or use after about 12 to 18 months
of decomposition.
h. Saw Dust- It is a byproduct or waste material from saw mills. The quantity and
quality depend on the parent wood material. Why this so? Because some wood
shavings contain raisin that is not good use as rooting media.
i. Grain Husk-Several type of husks are available, paddy husk is one of the important
wastage from rice mills. It is light in weight and cheaply available. It is suitable for
mixing with other types of media.
j. Coco Peat: Coco peat, cow dung is also used as media. A mixture of few media are
always preferred and used in commercial nurseries. Many times soil is one of the
main parts for mixtures. Media must be selected on the basis of the availability,
cost, ease in handling The media should be procured and stored.
There are other materials such as earthen pots, black polyethylene bags, plastic
pots, trays (undivided or with built in cells). These containers come in different sizes
used in the different stages of plant age. As plant grows it needs repotting. This is done
in order to maintain its good appearance.
Fertilizers such as inorganic or organic are part of the stocks needed in the
nursery. There are also chemicals such as fungicides and others used to control pests and
diseases.
Preparing stock control procedure:
When preparing record for stock materials you can list down what are available
and those that need to be replenished.
Example:
Date Purchase:
Materials No. of Stocks Stocks used Remaining Needed
1. Earthen 1,000 pcs 500 pcs 500 pcs.
pots (size 10)
2. Trays 150 pcs 75 pcs 75 pcs
(undivide d)
3. 10 sacks 8 sacks 2 sacks 5 sacks
Sphagnum (30k/s)
moss
Others
Identify what stocks are available in the nursery, the owner knows what to order
with its supplier. In this manner wastage of money and resources are avoided. Remember
that many of the nursery materials are organic and may become waste once they are not
properly managed by workers.
Remember, there might be some wastes that are harmful in the nursery. Some of
these are:
a. materials that could pollute the nursery soil or the water supply ;
b. broken glass, thorns or spines, which can cause cuts and infections if they get
into the potting mix or the nursery topsoil;
c. weeds that have ripening fruits or persistent underground organs;
d. plants and soil that are contaminated with spores carrying diseases, or with the
eggs or resting stages of insect pests; or
e. water that contains a lot of nutrients and is full of bacteria or algae.
There are solutions to these things.
1. Some sharp items can be sieved out from components such as: black soil; and
disposed of carefully;
2. Soil and plant material contaminated with pollutants, weeds, pests or
3. diseases could be sterilized, burnt or taken far away from the nursery; and
4. Water can be cleaned by running it through gravel or sand
Maintain stockpiled material
Stockpiles of potting mix and other materials are a potential source of
sediment and litter.
To minimize sediment and litter generated from stockpiled material consider
the following:
locate stockpiles away from drainage
minimize the number and size of stockpiles
build the stockpile with no slope greater than 2:1 (horizontal to vertical)
provide suitably enclosed storage areas for stockpiled material such as potting
mix or enclose the potting mix stockpile with silt fences
or a drainage system that will collect contaminated runoff, or do both
avoid locating stockpiles close to waterways.
ACTIVITY:
In a piece of clean paper.
1. How do you maintain stockpiled material?
2. What are wastes that are harmful in the nursery?
IV. EVALUATION
Answer the following questions to find out what you already know about the
topic.
A. Choose the letter of the best answer.
_______1. Which of the following fertilizers is used to cover food waste in order to
decrease smell?
A. Bokashi C. Compost tea
B. Compost D. Vermicasting
_______2. What is this liquid extract of compost that contains plant growth
compounds and bacterial organisms?
A. Bokashi tea C. Humanure extract
B. Compost tea D. Vermicasting
_______3. Which of the following is the other term for vermicasting?
A. Worm casting C. Worm manure͒
B. Worm humus D. Worm casting, humus and manure
______ 4. Which of the following are NOT considered potting materials for plants in
the nursery?
A. Banana leaves C. Polyethylene bags
B. Earthen pots D. Recycled pots͒
_______5. Where is the best place for grown-up seedlings in the nursery?
A. Display area C. Growing-on area
B. Germination area D. Pricking-out room
_______6. What term is used for preservation of viable seeds from the time of
collection until they are required for sowing?
A. Pricking out C. Storage
B. Scarification D. Thinning
_______7. What is the best thing to do for containerized plants once they attain a full
growth?
A. Bring them to the growing area.͒
B. Sell them at once even at lower cost.͒
C. Repot to prevent encircling of roots.͒
D. Ask someone to bring them to a nearest waste bin.
______8. Why are plants pruned in the nursery?
A. To eradicate pests and diseases
B. To ensure good health and structure͒
C. To destruct insects especially leaf eating one
D. To make it good to look at especially to buyers
______9. Which of the following type of fertilizers is best for growing plants?
A. Compost C. Organic͒
B. Liquid D. Slow release
______10. What is the best way to water plants if they are in different sizes?
A. Drip irrigation C. Hand watering
B. Drizzle type D. Spray
