Nursery production involves both container and field-grown methods. Container production requires careful monitoring of plant nutrition as growing media has few nutrients. Nutrition is assessed through pH, soluble salts testing, and tissue analysis. Fertilization uses slow and quick-release fertilizers. Field production also requires fertility management and pest control. Both methods are limited by temperature, especially low winter temperatures that impact overwintering and shorten the growing season.

1. Producing NurseryProducing Nursery
CropsBy Allah Dad KhanCropsBy Allah Dad Khan
What are the operational proceduresWhat are the operational procedures
used for container and field nurseries?used for container and field nurseries?

2. 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?

3. 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

4. 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

5. • Field Nursery
– Typical crops:
• Shade trees- red maple most popular
• Flowering trees- crab apple most popular
• Evergreen and deciduous shrubs
– Specialize in growing seedlings.

6. What are the differences
between container and field-
grown plants?

7. 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

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

9. • 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.

10. 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

11. • Check irrigation systems regularly
for uniformity.
• Cyclic irrigation, applying water in
two or more applications, conserves
water.

12. 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)

13. – 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

14. 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

15. Pest Control
• Scout- individual trained to identify
plant pests
• Weed control is major problem, use
pre-emergence herbicide
• Eliminate alternate host for other
pests

16. 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

17. Plant Spacing
• Distance between row depends on:
– Marketable size
– Harvesting equipment
– General rule: 3 feet per inch of stem
diameter at harvest

18. 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

19. 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

20. • 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

21. • 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

22. 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

23. • 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

24. • 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

25. 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

26. Irrigation
• Especially important during
transplanting and establishment
• Reduce production time
• Overhead irrigation- wastes water by
up to 25%

27. Pest Control
• Regular scouting is imperative
• Weed control is major concern

28. 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

29. – 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

30. • 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

31. Monitoring Nutrition of
C-G plants
• Use to determine excessive or
deficient nutrient status of media
• Two tests to perform: pH and soluble
salts

32. • 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

33. • 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

34. • 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

35. 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