Nursery practice

• Why nursery required?

• Nursery practice is required for the seedlings to pass the
critical stage of development under good care.
• Newly germinated seedlings of most tree species fail in
competition with other plants and it is impractical to give
each tiny seedling 3 or 4 metes apart in a plantation, the
care needed for survival. Therefore, seedlings are raised
together free of any competition, until they are sturdy
enough for planting out.
• Only in a nursery can a forester afford to provide growing
conditions to raise healthy vigorous plants. Mainly for
reasons of economics, the forest planting site receives a
minimum of soil preparation, fertilizing and maintenance.
• Therefore, the plants has to be
– of the required species
– Ready at the right time, wet season.
– Of the right size a sturdiness
– Produced in sufficient numbers
• If we need for few seedlings, there is no need to
establish nursery because we can buy from
another sources if available, like private
nurseries in the case of ornamental plantings
since we require them in fewer quantities.
• Types of Nursery
– Temporary, satellite of flying nursery
– Permanent forest nursery
– Extension nursery
• Temporary nursery: established for short
period, mostly less than five years to meet a
specific but temporary local needs
• Disadvantage: - cost of seedling production is
high
• Risks of theft and damages because of low
level of supervision
• Advantage:
– nearness to the planting site
– Isolation of diseases & other damages
– Capital investment is low
• Permanent nurseries:- supplies
seedlings for many years and usually in
large numbers
• Advantage: - less costs per seedlings
raised
• Disadvantages: high capital investments
– Risk of disease outbreak
– Cost of seedling transportation
• Extension nurseries:- used in social and
community forestry programmes to provide
plants of many species for local needs such
as:
–
fruit trees
– shade trees to provide MPT seedlings
– amenity plantings
– Firewood
– Fodder
– Posts & poles
• Usually small in size
 Nursery management
• Involves technical and administrative
• Major nursery operations:
– Planning controlling & recording all stages
from receipt of seeds to out planting
– Seed storage & pre-treatment or preparation
of cuttings
– Soil preparation in the seed bed, container, or
media or inserting cuttings
– Basal fertilizer production and top dressing to
control nutrition
 – Sowing seed and/or root cuttings
– Operational of prickling out, standing out,
under outing
– Ensuring myconhizal or nodule inoculation
– Control of weeds
– Protection against climatic damage irrigation,
shading, frost protection against fungi,
insects & animals
• Packing & dispatch of plants transporting
to plantation areas.
 Nursery size
• Depends on the plantation programs, location of
the nursery site to the planting site, e.g. very
huge nursery which supplies 10-20 million
seedlings will make long distance transport of
seedlings which is costly and roads are not
available or suitable. So the upper size should
not be more than 5 million seedlings producing
nursery. This is the upper desirable size limit.
• A common nursery size is an annual production
of 1-3 million seedlings.
 The nursery site

– good access to a nursery at all times

– continuous water supply for irrigation
– access to labor and the nursery manager should be
housed within or near the nursery
– Extreme climates should be avoided. E.g.- nursery in
Tiro afeta flooded by overflowing of nearby river
– gentle slope (1-3% ) is required for nursery site to
avoid flooding/erosion if hilly & water logging if very
flat
– In general hill tops and valley bottoms are unsuitable.
 Nursery design and layout

• It has to be approximately square to avoid

boundary length esp. if fencing is required.
• Normal bed width should be 1-1.2m. Length is
unimportant, i.e., depends on land available
• Paths between beds should be wide enough for
walking & passage for equipments like wheel
barrows, or tractors
• Sunken beds in dry climate to minimize water
loss, and raised beds to improve drainage.
 Growing tree seedlings
– two types of raising seedlings
• Bare-rooted or open bed
– seedlings are lifted and planted with roots bare of soil
• Container-raised - either individually or in multi- cavity trays
Similar to beverage trays. Common types in Ethiopia. The
containers can be:
– polyethylene bags (common)
– bamboo pots
– any containers like used cans
• Container- raised seedlings are costly to produce why then
required?
– survival of bare-rooted seedlings is poor owing to:
• high temperature
• arid conditions
• unpredictable start of rainy season
 Seed sowing
• pre-treated and tested seeds must be ready for the time
of sowing
– The time of sowing is important since seedlings must be of the
right size by the start of planting season
– Depending on how long seedlings of a species takes to grow to
the right plant size, the seeds should be sown that amount of
time in advance of planting season.
• E.g. Afrocarpus falcatus takes two years while
Eucalyptus grandis or E. saligna only five months to
grow to plantable size.
– The nursery site determines the length of time required from
seed sowing to planting out. E.g. in hot climates (lowlands) it
requires fewer time as compared to colder climates (highlands).
• Seeds can be directly sown in to the container or on
sowing beds (germinating beds) and then
transplanted (or pricking out) to containers
immediately after the appearance of the first leaf/
leaves.
– Directly sowing is appropriate for:
• For bigger seeds
• For seeds of good germination percentage
– Advantages of first sowing in to germinating beds
and pricking are:
• There is no waste and all the containers will
have one seedling
• Disadvantages of sowing to
the germinating bed.
• Two- stage process, hence
cost of labors
• It is time consuming, hence
more costly than direct sowing
• Sowing on seed beds and then pricking
out is suitable for:
– seeds which have poor germination
– seeds which are small in size
– seeds which have a lot of impurities
• SOWING SEED
• Tree seed can be sown directly into
polypots, or can be sown into seedbeds or
seedtrays and can be pricked out into poly
pots later.
• Large seed that can easily be handled one
at a time or seed that germinates well can
be sown directly into polypots.
• Direct sowing into polypots avoids the
damage to roots or the chance of
seedlings dying if they are pricked-out
badly.
• However, if the seed germinates poorly
space is wasted with empty polypots in the
nursery beds:
• Seed beds or seed trays should be used
when seed viability is low or when seed is
small or it takes a long time to germinate.
• Large, easily handled seed or seed you
know has a high viability can be sown
directly into polypots.
• Push the seed into the soil to no more
than half a centimetre deep.
Alternatively, first make a hole with a small stick and drop
the seed into it.
• Polypots should be filled to within 1 cm of
the top at least a week before they are to
be sown and the soil in them kept moist.
• The polypots should be well watered the
evening before the seed is to be sown
............. and lightly watered again just
before the seed is sown.
• To make sure that at least one seedling grows
in each polypot, two or more seeds are
usually sown in each pot. If you know
germination is very good (more than 8 out of
10 seeds germinate) then in half of the
polypots sow 1 seed and in the other half sow
2.
• If germination is very low (less than 6 out of
every 10 seeds germinate) then sow 3 seeds
in every polypot.
• After sowing, the polypots should be filled
to the top with washed, seived sand.
• After filling the polypots a mulch of straw
should be placed over them or shades put
up over them to protect against heavy rain
and hot sun. They should also be watered
again.
• After germinating some polypots may have 2 or
more seedlings whilst others may be empty:
‘Extra’ seedlings will have to be pricked-out into
the empty polypots.
• If 2 or more seedlings are left to grow in a
single polypot they will both become weak and
small and neither of them will be any good for
planting. Pull up, cut or break off the extra
seedlings as soon as possible to allow the one
that is left to grow on more healthily.
• SEEDTRAYS
• The main advantage of seedtrays is that
they can be carried. This means that they
can be put under shelter from heavy rain
or hot sun easily and they can be carried
to the standout beds where the pricking-
out of the seedlings is done. They are
especially good for germinating very small
seed.
• Seedtrays can be made from wood. They
should be about 40 cm long, 30 cm wide and
10 cm deep.
• Drainage should be provided by 7 mm holes
drilled in the bottom, or by making the base
from wooden slatts.
• Or seedtrays can be made by cutting old oil
tins in half lengthways, bending back the sharp,
cut edges and punching drainage holes in the
bottom.
 CONTAINER SYSTEM

• Seedlings grown in containers which are

taken to the planting site and the seedlings
planted with a ball or plug of soil around
the roots.
– Two types or contains
• individually mentioned earner
• multi-cavity trays
• Choice of containers depends on:
– availability of containers
– Cost consideration
– Simplicity for operations
• The commonly used container type is
polyethylene bags, either black or
(transparent).
 Container Filling

• Soil depends on the availability of the material and on the

species.
• Determined either from previous experience or from trials.
• In general, a sandy loam texture of 5.5-7.0 pH is required.
• Usually forest soil is added to sand in 4:1 ratio but if forest
soil is not available, i.e., due to distance of transportation,
compost or animal manure can be added to soil and then
mixed with sand, fertilizer is usually added.
• Sand and forest soil has to be sieved to remove.
– Large lumps
– Stones before used
– thwigs
• To avoid the risk of weed seeds in the soil mix,
containers has to be filled 3-4 weeks before
sowing so that the weed seeds can germinate
and be killed off in advance.
• Pot filling is usually done by hand on a quota
basis in Ethiopia free is partial or full
mechanization in nursery counties
• Women are almost universally given pot filling in
of Ethiopia
• The rate of filling depends on container size
– Moistened soils, not wet, has to be filled in to
the container to aid compaction to avoid soil
loss since both ends are open.
– Soil filled pots have to be arranged on the
nursery bed tightly and watered usually even
if no seeds sown in to the pot to initiate weeds
seed germination.
Care, protection and conditioning of
seedlings
– Watering
– Shading
– Shelter
– Weed control
– Protection against fungal diseases
– Protection against insect pests
– Damage from animals & birds (protection)
– Preparation for out planting conditioning or
hardening off
• Watering :- provision of adequate
moistures at all times is essential for a
nursery even in humid equatorial regions
with high, well distributed rainfall __ one or
two days drought can kill young seedlings
eg. Seedlings at home!
– Even if quality of water matters, the primary
importance is the supply of adequate water
– Water quality:-
• PH less than 7
• Low salt content, and
• Free & cloudy suspension,
– Watering frequency should be reduced as the
seedlings get bigger.
– Irrigation can be done by watering can where
labor is cheap, and automatic watering
systems like sprinklers for large nusseries
where the cost is affordable to pressurize
• Shading
– Related to watering to reduce Evapotraspiration.
– Shading also avoids soil temperature which could
other wise cause deaths or impair seedling growth.
– The need for shedding differs
• Among species (heavy vs light shading)
• Stage of seedling differs.
• And nursery location
• Similar to watering, the amount of shade
required decreases as seedlings get bigger
 Shelter
• Seedlings are tender, so in addition to
shading they need shelter from
– Wind damage which causes
– physical damage
– accelerate desiccation
– Erodes soil around root collar
– Upsets irrigation spray(it sprinkler system)
 – Large hail stones break & crush seedlings.
– Overhead shelter using wire netting or
– Material for shading is usually adequate
• 3. Frost is only important at high
elevations
– past experience or meteorological
information helps.
• heavy rain causes physical damages,
erodes soil around seedlings, and may
lead to local water logging
• N.B.- in Ethiopia, this is only important
for seedlings which stays in a nursery for
more than one season, i.e., heavy rain
damage is expected only during the main
rain season (June-August)
 Weed control

• Competition from weeds for:

– Moisture
– Nutrients
– Light
• Weeds depresses seedling growth, and if
not controlled can lead to seedling deaths.
• weeds can be controlled:
• by hand weeding
• by chemical ( herbicides
• Generally care has to be taken while using
weedicides because:
• herbicides may kill seedlings
• herbicides are poisonous to man
• dosage rates, timing, weather conditions (windy days create
problem)
– Similar to other crops weed control is a must in
nurseries
 Protection against fungal
diseases
• Damping-off diseases
– As the name implies, over moist conditions are
conducive to the disease. Causes of over-moistness:
• Over watering
• Too heavy shade
• Poor ventilation
– The most serious disease affecting seedlings in the
tropics.
– Seedlings of any age can be affected (newly
germinated older)
• Symptoms:- seedlings die from rotting of
tissue near the root collar which causes
the symptom of seedlings toppling over.
– usually first occurs in patches and then
spreads
– caused: many fungi species
• Serious outbreak can cause up to 80%
seedling deaths if unchecked
• Moulds
– causes are over-moistness
– this is disease of forage (leaves) of seedlings
• Control of fungal diseases:
– Nursery cleanliness
– Quarantine measures
– soil sterilization
– Careful control of moisture levels
– using fungicides
 Protection against insects
• Insect pests can cause deaths of
seedlings through:
– Feeding on leaves
– Feeding on shoots
– feeding on roots
– boring into stems
• Control measures:
• Through soil sterilization and use of
insecticides
– Except for few species, most insect pests are
active at their larval stage
 Protection against animals &
birds
• Domestic animals may brose or trample
on seedlings
• Rats and mice may cause damage by
eating seeds or digging around seedlings
• Some monkeys & baboons may uproot
seedlings or destroy shadings
• Some wild browsers like rabbits may
browse on seedlings
• Birds may eat seeds or peck shoots
• Control measures:
– Fencing
– Guarding
– Trapping or prison baits
 Preparation for planting out

• conditioning (hardening- off)

• quality control( culling of poor quality and
undersized seedlings)
– Includes sorting out small-sized and poor performing
seedlings
• Packing and transport- to avoid damages to
seedlings and loss, and to minimize re-locating of
seedlings, the number of plants required for a
specific planting area or compartment should be
accurately known before making any transport of
seedlings to planting area.
• Temporary depots have to be pre-
arranged for seedlings (considering water
availability) because it needs few weeks to
plant the whole seedlings in the depot.
Sometimes because of labor shortages,
you may find difficulties in finalizing
planting programs as per the plan. This is
mainly the case in rural Ethiopia where
other agricultural activities tie the labor
force.
 Plantation Establishment
• Once the planting stock arrives from a nursery,
the site should have been prepared so that the
planting operation can proceed with out delay.
• Site preparation varies from site to site, i.e. dry
land demands more intensive and thorough site
preparation that humid climate.
– The objectives of site preparation are:
• Removal of competing vegetation
• Prepare soil to optimize conditions for growth of
planted seedlings
• Minimizing danger from fire & pests
• Site preparation includes.
• Site clearance (manual, mechanical or
chemical)
• Pitting (digging holes) for planting
• Optimization of soil and water
conservation such as terraces, micro-
catchments, etc., particularly on
inhospitable sites.
 Planting
• The time of planting should coincide with the
onset of the rainy season.
• Planting too early & too late has its own
disadvantages.
• Planting must follow specified procedures and
techniques if forest plantations are to be
established successfully
• Efforts to obtain high-quality vigorous planting
stock from a nursery and careful transport of the
seedlings to the planting site are lost if seedlings
are not planted properly.
 Procedures of planting:
• insert roots into the soil up to root collar
• Avoid damaging roots by breaking, bending or
crushing
• firm soil around the roots
• Remove impervious containers like polyethylene
plastics before planting which otherwise impede
root development.
• On dry sites the planting position should
maximize water retention, eg micro-catchments
• Stump plants should not be forced in to the
ground.
 Plantation maintenance

• These are: - beating up or replacement plantings

(decided on survivals count)
• weeding & cultivation
• slashing & climber cuttings
• Pruning -- low and high pruning
• thinning --1st, 2nd, 3rd thinning
• Forest protection: - fire control
• - Pest control
• - Disease control
 Beating up
• Not all planted seedlings survive. So a few
weeks to a few months after planting, an
assessment has to be made how many
plants have died.
• This assessment is called survival count
• Survival is expressed in percentage
survival or percentage mortality
• A plantation where one in five has died is
said to have 80% survival or 20%
mortality.
• Acceptable mortality rates are depending
on spacing, i.e with many trees per ha, a
higher mortality rate (20%) is acceptable
and at wider spacing only 10% mortality
acceptable.
• For example in our country 2x2= 2500 seedlings
20% is acceptable for cupressus & other species
where spacing is 2x2, and for Afrocarpus
falcatus the spacing is (4x4=625 tree /ha) only
10% is acceptable in this case and no beating
up required for mortalities less than 10%.
• In Eth., beating up is commonly done the
following rainy season after dry season, i.e., one
year after. This is because more seedlings
mortality is expected in the dry season due to
moisture stress.
 Weeding & cultivation

• Control of competing weeds is an important part of plantation

establishment.
• Nearly all plantations require some weeding during the first few
years until the trees are growing well & approaching canopy closure
and are adequate size to suppress competing weeds.
• Manual weeding is the commonest method for small-scale plantings
& in countries where labour is cheap.
• Cutting weeds using bush knives, slashers and similar implements
alone is not adequate, and some soil cultivation by hoeing is
needed.
• The cut weeds have to be used as mulch to reduce soil
temperature.