This document discusses various containers and equipment used in plant nurseries. It describes different types of containers like flats, pots, bands, clay pots, jiffy pots, concrete pots, paper pots, rubber pots, plastic pots, plug trays and polybags. Each container has distinct properties regarding material, drainage, and suitability for growing plants. The document also outlines various tools used in nurseries like secateurs, pruning knives, grafting knives, spray pumps, pots, and wheelbarrows. Modern nurseries utilize equipment like tractors, trailers, tree spades and irrigation systems to improve efficiency and productivity. The goal of new container development is to reduce handling costs while recycling plastic helps reduce pollution.

1. PLANT CONTAINERS AND NURSERYEQUIPMENTS
Plant containers
 A container is a small, enclosed and usually portable object used for
displaying live flowers or plants.
 Plant containers have two distinct functions
 Growing of plants for transplanting to the field, garden, greenhouse.
 Growing of plants their itself upto maturity.
Flats
 Commercial growers usually usestandard dimensions 30cm×59cm×8
cm.
 Flats are shallow plastic, styrofoam, wooden or metal trays, with
drainage holes in the bottom.
 They are usefulfor germinating seeds or rooting cuttings , sincethey
permit young plants to be moved easily.
 Galvanized iron flats used but zinc released from popular flats could
causetoxicity to plants.
 Today , flats are made up of plastic[polyethylene, polystyrene] and
come in different shapes and sizes.
POTS
1. Pots are round,may or may not have hole in the bottom for drainage.
2.Porous pots aremade of clay or peat fibre.
3.Non porous pots aremade of metal , concrete, rubber and plastic.
4.Non porous pots requireless moisturecompared to porous pots, butit
largely causes over wintering.
5.Porous pots leads to drainout of water.

2. 6.Pots are used to raisetransplants or raise plants to full maturity.
BANDS:
 bands are squareand are open at the bottom.
 these are easily attacked by micro organisms.
Clay pots
 These are the oldest and most popular.
 Sizes varying from5,10,13,15,25 cmin diameter.
 These are called as earthen pots
 These are heavy,porous and losemoisturereadily.
 Usually used for growing young plants.
 Easily broken, their round shapeis not economical for storagespace.
 Clay pots are used rarely used in commercial propagation.
Jiffy pots/fibre pots
 These pots are made from compressed peat and held together with a
biodegradable net.
 Roots are easily penetrate the container walls, so root curling does not
occur.
 The seedling is planted together with the pot as it is biodegradable.
 Seeds or cuttings can be directly planted into them, roots will grow
through the walls.
Concrete pots
 These are used in the gardens for growing the plants and not in the
nurseries.
 These are bulky, heavy and difficult to handle.
 So , polybags or plastic pots have taken over in most of the nurseries.
Paper pots

3.  Paper pots or paper tube pots are more popular with seedling
propagation of ornamental and
 forestry species.
 Pots are biodegradable , seedling plug can planted intact into a larger
container or into the ground
 without disturbing the root system.
 Typically, paper pots consistof a series on interconnected paper cells
that are arranged in a honeycomb pattern that can separated before
outplanting.
 Rubber pots
 Recycled rubber parts used to make pots.
 Pot sizeis stable.
 Itreduces the pollution by recycling rubber tyres.
Plastic pots
 These are containers which are round and squareshape.
 They are non porous,reuseble,lightweight,and uselittle surface.
 Ithelps in direct rooting of cuttings,seedling propagation and tissue
culture acclimatization and production.
 Inner walls of the pot treated with chemical root pruning agents like
copper hydroxide which chemically prune liner roots.
 Chemically pruned lateral roots become suberized butwill begin to grow
again transplanting results in a well distributed rootsystem to reduce
transplantshock.
Plug trays
 Small-sized seedlings grown in trays from expanded polystyreneor
polythene filled usually with a peat or compostsubstrate.
 Plug plants are young plants raised in small, individual cells, ready to be
transplanted into containers or a garden.
Polybags

4.  The chief advantageof using polybags is that the seedling
 can be raised almostyear the round under controlled conditions.
 Plantation programmewill not suffer dueto dry spell or shortageof
labours.
Advantages of plastic pots
 Itcan be re-useable .
 Itmaintains optimum moisture.
 No breakageof pots.
 Cheap cost.
Problems regarding to polybags
 It should be never placed straightonto soil because roots will grow into
the ground and main roots break off when u lifting.
 Polybags arenot durable and can break prematurely.
 They are normally used only once.
 These are problem for nursery wastemanagement, do not decay and
often burn, it causes serious air pollution.
Root trainers
 These are usually rigid containers with internal vertical ribs, which direct
roots straightdown to preventspiral growth.
 The containers are set on frames or beds above the ground to allow air
pruning of roots as they emerge from containers.
 Italso encourage lateral air root pruning through vertical slits.
 Seedlings in this containers are more vigorous and rapid root growth
than polybags.
 plants in root trainer systems areready for planting out compared to
conventional polybags.
 Hanging pots
Barrel containers
Tub container

5. Nursery equipments
A nursery canoperate withbasic equipments
Spray unit
Movable sprinklers
Pairs of secateurs
Grafting/budding knives
Spades
Hand hoes and rakes
Plant pot trolleys
A work bench
Wheel barrow
Tags
Labels
Pruning saw
Pruning knife.
Secateurs
 Secateurs are considered as the most important tool for a propagator or
nurseryman.
 Itis used for removing scions , lopping off the rootstock, preparation of
scion sticks ,removalof undesirableshoots/sprouts.
 In training and pruning operations.
 Blades of secateurs should be high quality carbon blade for giving
smooth cuts to the stock and scions.
Pneumatic secateurs
 The pneumatic secateurs, also known as pneumatic pruning shears.

6.  These are used for pruning vines using pneumatic power.
 Gripping blade of the shear is stationary and shearing action is imparted
by the other blade through the movement of piston.
 The device offers effortless, accurateand swiftcutting, at the same time
ensuring the quality of vines.
 The double acting piston facilitates easy pruning of even large branches.
PRUNING KNIFE
Itis usefulfor thinning delicate branches ,removing suckers , shaping rose
bushes.
PRUNING SAW
These have sharp blades so that we cut large branches easily.
BUDDING KNIFE
 The budding knife is an important hand tool of a gardener.
 One of the edges is sharpened all along its length.
 The blunt or the other edge is sharpened on the tip and is slightly
curved.
 This sharpened curved portion is used to create a 'T' opening or slot on
the bark of the mother branch or twig for the insertion of the bud.
 The budding knife is used for the
 budding operation,
 cutting of scion stick,
 3.defoliation of leaves and removing or cutting of unwanted twigs.
GRAFTING KNIFE
 which resembles a household knife.
 The cutting edge of the blade is sharpened all along its length and the
other edge is blunt.
 The blade of the knife can be folded into the handle when not in use.
 For cutting and defoliation of scion stick.
 Making of chisel point and 'V' grooves for grafting.

7.  Slashing of thin twigs and for general-purposecutting.
Grafting/budding knives
 Knife having a combined blade for grafting and budding purposes
 A grafting knife has a straight7.5cmlong blade and strong long handle
 Ithas a spatula at the end of a handle , which is used for lifting the bark
during budding operations
 In someknives have 2 parallel double blades , used specially for lifting or
removing the patch of a bud from the bud wood.
 The blade of the knife should be made from high carbon steel and it
should be sharp.
 Generally these knives have either a folding or fixed blade.
Spray pumps
 To spray protective material that is insecticide/pesticide/fungicide to
eliminate pathogen or insects.
 Commonly used sprays areknapsack sprayer ,rocker sprayer , hand
sprayer or power sprayers.
 Depending upon the volume of the nursery and specific purposes
different types of sprayers areused.
Pruning shear
 Itis made up of iron fitted with wooden handle.
 Itis used to pruneunwanted branches.
 Collection of scion.
 Trimming of the edges and hedges and topiary works .
Pots
 Pots of different shapes and sizes are used in nursery.
 They may be of clay,metal or plastic usually 10cm,15cm, 20cmfor a
single specimen.
 These are use for potting ornamental , fruit plants and samplings.

8. Grafting wax
 Wax is used by propagator to seal the graft union for preventing
moistureloss and desiccation of cells at cut surface.
 Italso prevents the decay of wood by checking the entry of pathogens.
 Types of waxes are cold and hot wax.
Wheel barrow
 Itis manually operated small trolly , used for carrying nursery plants ,
compost,fertilizer , leaf litter etc. From one place to another place.
 Itcan be designed into different shapes according to requirements.
Weeding fork
 Itloosens the soil and helps in weeding also
 Itconsists of a long handle with a blade of handle teeth.
 Itdrawn manually with the help of the handle to collect the weeds.
Handle hoe and rake
 Itis a rectangular shape metal blade with fork like fore edge.
 Itis used for digging ,hoeing,earthing ,levelling and collecting weeds.
Spade
 Itis used for lifting and turning the soil.
 Itis used for digging the pit , preparing channels for irrigation and
drainage lines.
Labels
 Itis use for labelling of plants before sale.Labels may be made of papers
,cardboard , wooden, aluminium and plastic etc.
Rose can

9.  Itis a tubular pipe with rosei.e, fitted into the can through which water
is sprinkled over the nursery beds until the germination of seeds.
 Itavoids splashing of seeds from the nursery bed due to loose pipe
irrigation and flood irrigation.
 Hoseand irrigation systems
scissors
Trowel
In big wholesale nursery requiresalarge pool of equipments that include
Tractor
Trailers
Nursery trailers
Transplanting equipments
Tree spades
Tree shears
Power saw
Trimmers
Prefabricatednettings
Pruning equipment
The scale of operationwill affect the profitability .
Building equipment anddelivery vehicles are alsoconsidered.
Tractors
Nursery trailers
Tree spades
Potting machine
Tree shears

10. Trimmers
Power saw
Prefabricated nettings
Pruning equipment
Misting systems
Irrigationsystem
Plastic mulches
Flats
Pressure washers
Pots
Trays
CONCLUSION:
• New types of containers for propagating and growing young liner plants
are continually being developed.
• The main goal is reducing handling costs.
• Recycling of plastic for pots reduces the pollution.
• By using modern equipments, we reduce the labour cost, time and
increase the productivity.
• Purchaseof more sophisticated equipment such as potting machinery,
computers,automatic irrigation might improve overall profitability.
REFERENCE: 1.Plantnursery management- P K Ray,
2.Basic horticulture- Jitendra singh,
3.Nursery Raising - S.N Das