Reecha Sahu, Ph.D. Scholar (Department of Vegetable Science), 
Dr. Subuhi Nishad, Program Officer NSS Girls unit,
Dr. P.K. Sangode, NSS Coordinator ,
 I.G.K.V., Raipur (C.G.)


INTRODUCTION:
A nursery is a place where rooting of planting materials or germination of seeds can be obtained in a better way, under favourable growing conditions. In a nursery, seeds germinate effectively and seedlings give better stand in field. The period required for germination and establishment of seedlings can be easily utilised in a nursery and skipped in the preparation of land or harvest of previous crop in the field. This results in early growing of the crop. Vegetable crops are mostly raised by seeds and grafting. In vegetatively propagated crops, root stocks are raised by seeds, or cutting. All these require care and can be grown well in a nursery under supervision. A nursery may be established for a short term on a required site so that all planting requirements are at hand. This is called a ‘temporary nursery’, which is target-oriented for a particular project. Commercial nurseries are raised with a target of selling planting material with high profit margin. Such nurseries are individual establishments where quality planting material is prepared. A nursery requires almost all necessary farming inputs. An ideal nursery should have quality rooting media, skilled labour and specialised nursery structures. It involves preparation of land for planting and its maintenance, fertility and productivity, maintenance of mother plants, requirement of various farming and specialised nursery tools, equipment and their maintenance, crop protection measures, etc.

2. NURSERY AND ITS IMPORTANCE:
  • Wastage of small and expensive hybrid seeds is reduced considerably due to better care and management.
  • Germination percentage can be improved by providing ideal condition in a comparatively smaller place.
  • The management of seedlings can be done in a better way with minimum care, cost and maintenance as the nursery area is small.
  • By selecting vigorous and healthy seedlings in the nursery for transplanting, better and uniform crop growth can be obtained in the main field through better survival chances.
  • The duration of the crop is reduced in the main field by at least a month due to the raising of seedlings, which saves land and labour of the main field and also gives enough time for harvesting of the previous crop.
  • The control of insect pests, diseases and weed is easy in a nursery.

3. SITE SELECTION FOR NURSERY:

Location: Ideally, a nursery, should be located in a pollution-free environment. It must be ensured that adequate sunlight is available in the nursery but the plants must be protected against severe heat.

Topography of land: The topography of land at the nursery site must be even to facilitate intercultural operations. If it is undulating, it must be levelled. In hilly areas, the land may be divided into levelled terraces.

Soil: It must be preferably loam or sandy loam with large quantity of organic matter. The pH of the soil needs to be slightly acidic to neutral and must not be alkaline or saline. The soil should have good drainage and proper water retention capacity. Aerated, porous, fertile and productive soils are preferable.

Water: Quality water in adequate quantity must be available at the site for irrigation. The nursery must be near to a natural source of water. The water should be free from harmful salts, toxins or salinity.

Drainage: The nursery site should be free from waterlogging. Water must not be allowed to stagnate for a long duration as it affects gaseous exchange and leads to poor development of roots. Proper drainage facilities must be provided at the site.

Transportation and marketing: The nursery site should be connected with approach roads or railway. It would be convenient to locate the nursery near a market. If the market is far, it will result in high transportation cost and the plants are likely to be damaged.

Labour: As nursery work is labour-intensive and requires skilled labour, the availability of skilled labour in the vicinity is important.

Protection from wind and animals: The nursery must be protected by a strong fencing to avoid grazing animals and thieves. Suitable plants are planted as windbreak in the south-west direction to avoid losses from strong wind.



4. TYPES OF NURSERY RAISING:

4.1. CONVENTIONAL METHOD:
For small farmer they adopted conventional method for healthy plant nursery raising of onion, lettuce and small size ornamental seeds.

1. Bed is raised bed with convenient length, 1m width and 0.15m height with well pulverized soil. 20-25 kg well rotten FYM and 200 g SSP are applied in one bed.

2. To prevent disease, nursery beds are treated with formaldehyde (25 ml/litre of water) after that covered with white polythene at lease 7-8 days. Polythene is removed and turned the soil 3-4 times before sowing of seed to remove fumes.

3. The line to line spacing is 5cm and after seed sowing lines are covered with fine soil and FYM and bed are mulched by straw or dry grass.

4. Irrigation is applied in morning and evening by water cane and mulch are removed when seedling are emerging.

5. To avoid damping off bed is drenched with fungicide bavistin.

6. Water soluble fertilizer 19:19:19 spray @0.4% from 2 leaf stages to 16 days.

7. Seedlings are hardening with withheld water before 7 days of transplanting.

4.2. PLUG TRAY METHOD:
Plug-plant propagation is advantageous for production of healthy, virus-free seedlings which reduces pre-bearing period, provide uniform crop growth and facilitate harvest among various crops vegetables such as tomato, chilli, brinjal, bell capsicum, cole crops, cucurbits, lettuce, parsley and celery. Seedlings are raised in seedling trays or plug tray or pro tray placed inside a greenhouse. Vermicompost + sand (1:1) and well decomposed, nutrient enriched and sterilized cocopeat is used as the growing medium (Prasad and Kumar 2007). The number of different trays are available in market with varied numbers of cells are used to grow the seedlings in vegetable nurseries. The cells number varies from 72-800 cells and standard tray is 98 and 104 cavity suitable for vegetable growing which are made of polypropylene material with drainage holes are used for seedling production. But for papaya, drumstick, cucurbits and gerbera growing 50 cavity is best. Seedlings produced in larger cells are taller and more root whereas in smaller size early ready for transplanting. Trays are filled with the growing medium and tapped gently to fill the cell properly. Seedling trays are drenched using Carbendazim 2g/l or Copper oxychloride (3g/l). Seeds are treated with Carbendazim (0.2g/100 seed) or Captan (0.2g/100g seed) are sown one per cell, covered with a thin layer of the above growing medium and watered lightly with rose cane. Filled trays are staked one above the other and covered with plastic sheet to create warmth and humidity required for germination. Seeds are taken 4-6 days after sowing according to temperature and humidity. Trays are shifted to a greenhouse and placed on the raised bed covered with a plastic sheet immediate after germination. Trays are watered twice a day maintain appropriate moisture. Seedlings are drenched with 0.2% 19:19:19 + trace elements at 15 days after germination. Seedlings are sprayed using acephate (0.75g/l) to prevent infection by thrips. Hardening is done by exposing them gradually to sunlight and by reducing the frequency of watering. Seedlings will be ready for planting after 25-30 days after sowing. The importance of this method produce quality and disease free seedling in off season to get higher profit.

4.3 POLY BAGS PLANTING SYSTEM: Most of the cucurbits like watermelon, musk melon, bottle gourd, pumpkin, cucumber, ridge gourd, bitter gourd and snap melon are propagated in different size of polythene before main field preparation and also germinate in winter season as compare to direct sowing seeds.

5. TYPES OF MEDIA USED IN NURSERY:

5.1. Root media for plug tray:
Growing media is the key factor for successful nursery management. For proper root growth it is depend upon the physical characteristic like water holding capacity and nutrient content (Pandiyaraj et al. 2017). The role of media is root initiation and supplies the food material and water to young seedling (Krishnan et al. 2014). For better growing cocopeat, vermiculite, perlite used 3:1:1 ratio. For disinfect from disease and pest, media are mixed with neem cake + Trichoderma + Carbofuran for vegetable seeding growing.

5.1.1. Coco peat: Sterilized cocopeat with low EC are used as growing media which is byproduct of coconut fibers. The pH should be 5.8 to 7 reported by (Easdown and Ravishankar 2016). It is C:N ratio and high water holding capacity about 7-9 times more than its weight. It improves the porosity, water retention capacity, good aeration, quick root growth and free from pathogen. Cocopeat blocks are very light in weight, so that it is easier to transport from one place to another place. It is free from soil borne disease. Commercial nursery is using mainly cocopeat for vegetable and flower seedling. Undecomposed cocopeat are needed to soak in water and sqeeze at least 3 to 4 times for maintain lower down EC and salt.

5.1.2 Perlite: It is a one of the volcanic glass which is light in weight and expensive media as compare to cocopeat. It is used for good drainage of water and porosity and easy root growth. It improves aeration and drainage. Perlite is neutral in reaction.

5.1.3 Vermiculite: It is light in weight with good aeration and water holding capacity.

6. NURSERY MANAGEMENT:

6.1. Handling of plants: Since plants grown in a nursery are tender, care must be taken in nourishing them in order to ensure their growth and development. After 5-6 days of germination, trays are taken under poly house with proper care for uniform growth of plant. After that transfer to shade net and lastly open area for hardening.

6.2. Irrigation: Quality water is required important on the growth and development of plant in nursery. EC should be below 1 mS/cm and pH of water should be 6.5-8.4 (Easdown and Ravishankar 2016). Due to porous media water holding capacity is more so that 1-2 times in one day depends upon the moisture condition. Before 7 days prior to transplant withhold the water. Frequency of irrigation is done to see age of the seedling.

6.3. Weeding: Nursery has to be weed free because disease and pest attack is more. Black colour woven mats are covering in entire nursery.

6.4. Nutrient application: Nutrition plays an important role in the nursery. The nutrition in the form of organic and inorganic sources supplies all the essential nutrients required for proper growth and development of the nursery plants. Water soluble fertilizer like 19:19:19 is applied from cotyledon stage to 24 days with 5g to 20g respectively. 8-16 days- 5 g/10 lt, 16-19 day-10 g/10 lt, 19-22 day-15 g/10 lt and 22-24 days-20 g/10 lt.13:0:46, 0:52:34, calcium nitrate, potassium nitrate, magnesium nitrate, EDDHA Fe and micronutrients are applied.

6.5. Plant protection measures: The disease and pest maintenance with minimize the number of spray by maintenance of polyhouse construction. Avoid more water use which increase the disease, all hole should be close when ever see, sterilize the media, disinfection the plug tray and vicinity area. Yellow and blue sticky trap are used mass trapping. Sticky traps are using as integrated pest management in nursery for thrips, aphids, whiteflies, jassids and leaf minor are caught in the flying stage and alternate any type of tin box or mud pot are painted with yellow or blue colour in periphery with mustard oil or grease. The flies are attracted for yellow or blue colour. One trap is used for 10 m2 of nursery. Trap are used when plant start emergence.

6.6. Chemical treatment: Hybrid seeds are already treated with chemicals. Seeds are treated with Thiomethoxam (10g/kg seed) for control initial pest infestation. Application of Copper oxychloride@3g/l when damping off symptom is seen. 17 days after sowing seedlings are sprayed with pesticide and drenching with systemic insecticide and broad spectrum fungicide on 22 to 25 days after sowing.

7. ADVANTAGES OF NURSERY MANAGEMENT:

1. Plants are protected from biotic stress such as pest, soil borne diseases and abiotic stress such as temperature, rainfall and hot waves.

2. Due to use of artificial soil-less media is commonly free from soil borne disease and nematode as compare to traditional methods.

3. Minimum weed infestance.

4. Low cost labour.

5. Germination per cent is high.

6. Year round production of seedling and not severe problem in rainy season.

7. Minimize the infestation of pest as well as cost of pesticides used.

8. Small size seeds like ornamental crops are also good germinated.

9. Early seedling production gives higher price in the market and economically more profit.

CONCLUSION:
The importance of good nursery practices cannot be over-emphasized. The nursery should be maintained at the highest standard to ensure healthy, vigorous and uniform quality seedling. There are different factors like high quality hybrid seeds, growing media with good drainage facility and water holding capacity and recommended use of fertilizer and pesticide. Seedlings are uniform germination and growth in greenhouse condition. Hence, a full-proof planning, adequate investment, sufficient nursery infrastructure, scientific production system, good nursery management practices and maintenance of quality standards of planting material in a comprehensive manner are required for sustainable and profitable nursery.