There are several types of nurseries classified based on the plants propagated, type of sale, ownership, and irrigation facilities. The main types include fruit, vegetable, ornamental, forest and medicinal plant nurseries. Nurseries are also classified as retail, wholesale, private, and mail order based on the type of sale. Additionally, nurseries can be public, private, cooperative or assisted based on ownership. They can be dry, wet, seedling or transplant nurseries based on irrigation and size of seedlings. Nurseries are either temporary or permanent based on duration of use. Temporary nurseries are smaller and suitable for hilly regions while permanent nurseries are larger and intended to meet long term requirements.

1. Course Contents
NURSERY MANAGEMENT &
CERTIFICATION SYSTEM
Hort 507: 4(3-2)

2. Lecture
No.
Course Description
1 Introduction and Importance
2 Introduction and Importance
3 Types of horticultural nurseries
4 Types of horticultural nurseries
5 Management practices (water) insect-pests
6 Management practices (water)
7 Management practices (nutrient)
8 Management practices (nutrient
9 Management practices (weeds)
10 Management practices (weeds)
11 Management practices (Diseases)
12 Management practices (Diseases)
13 Management practices (Insects-pest)
14 Management practices (Insects-pest)
Theory

3. 15 Protection against temperature extremities and radiation
16 Protection against temperature extremities and radiation
17 Important nursery operations
18 Important nursery operations
19 Propagation methods and their importance
20 Propagation through seed
20 Propagation method (Budding)
21 Propagation method (Grafting)
22 Propagation method (Grafting)
23 Propagation method (Cutting)
24 Propagation method (Layering)
25 Propagation method (Division)
26 Rootstocks for Temperate Fruits
27 Rootstocks for Temperate Fruits
28 Rootstocks for Temperate Fruits
29 Rootstocks for Tropical Fruits
30 Rootstocks for Tropical Fruits
31 Rootstocks for Subtropical fruits
32 Rootstocks for Subtropical fruits
33 Rootstocks for Ornamentals
34 Rootstocks for Vegetables

4. 35 Raising of stock seedlings
36 Raising of stock seedlings
37 Pre-sowing treatments of seeds
38 Pre-sowing treatments of seeds
39 Apomixis and Polyembryony
40 Stionic Interactions
41 Graft compatibility and incompatibility
42 Use of growth regulators for propagation
43 Certification systems and standards
44 Certification rules and regulations and procedures
45 Certification of planting material and nursery plants,
46 Marketing of nursery plants.
47 Presentations by students
48 Presentations by students

5. Practical No. Description
1 Seed identification of ornamental plants
2 Seed identification of vegetable crops
3 Seeds germination test I
4 Seeds germination test II
5 Selfing and crossing techniques in winter vegetables
6 Selfing and crossing techniques in winter annuals
7 Harvesting of winter annuals
8 Collection of seeds of winter annuals
9 Harvesting of winter vegetables
10 Extraction of seeds of winter vegetables
11 Drying of seeds
12 Packaging of seeds
13 Storage of seeds
14 Selfing and crossing techniques in summer vegetables
15 Visits to the seed markets
16 Visits to the seed markets
Practical

6. Books Recommended
1. Agarwal, R. M. 1980. Seed Technology. Oxford and IBH Publishing Company, New
Dehli, Bombay. India.
2. George Raymond, A. T. 1985. Vegetable Seed Production: Longman Group New
York, London.
3. Robert, E. H. 1974. Viability of Seeds. Chapman and Hall Ltd. London.
4. Thompson, J. R. 1979. An Introduction to Seed Technology. John Wiley and Sons.
New York, Toronto.
5. Sharma, V. K. 1996. Plant Nurseries Techniques, Production & Management Indus
Publishing Co. New Delhi.
6. Khare, D. and M.S. Bhale 2005. Seed Technology. Scientific Publishers PO Box 91.
New Delhi. India
7. Pradeepkumar. T, Kumar, Pradeep Management of Horticultural Crops: Vol.11
Horticulture Science Series: 2008 Publishing Co. New India.
8. Jack Ingels. Ornamental horticulture: science, operations & management. 2009.
Publishing Co Cengage Brain

7. A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to usable
size. Nurseries are of various types.
Nurseries are broadly classified on the basis of types of production
and types of sale like, fruit nurseries, medicinal plant nurseries, forest
nurseries, retail nurseries, mail order nurseries, etc.
Selection of type of nursery enterprise depends on market scenario
and demand of surrounding area.
Introduction

8. Importance
• Some species are not annual good seed bearer, but need to be planted
annually. To meet the need of seedlings of such species, nursery is
important.
• Slow growing species need a nursery to be planting out to avoid
competition
• Roadside and urban plantation always need a nursery for their plantation
• The best method of introduction of exotics is only by nursery
• Planting of nursery-grown plants is the surest method of artificially
regenerating poor and barren sites.
• Casualty replacement is only possible by the plants grown in the nursery.

9. 1. Fruit Plant Nurseries: Fruit nurseries are essential for production
of grafts and rootstocks of Pomological Crops
2. Vegetable Nurseries: All vegetables like tomato, cabbage, onion,
etc are raised by seedlings up to proper age for transplanting.
Seedlings are produced from seeds which are very expensive.
3. Ornamental Plant Nurseries: Ornamental and floricultural crops
require special practices regarding their propagation and early
growth.
Classification According to Plants Propagated:

10. Fruit Plant Nursery
Vegetable Nursery
Ornamental Plant Nursery
Classification According to Plants Propagated:

11. 4. Forest Plant Nursery: Forest plants are essential for synthesis of
gums, honey, timber and fuel. They are important in afforestation
programs. There is lack of forest plant nurseries.
5. Medicinal Plant Nursery: Many wild plants have medicinal values
and are exploited for this. Nurseries play an important role in
preservation of such species, they also act as a resource for many
pharmaceutical industries.
6. Hi-Tech Nurseries: Tissue culture and other modern techniques
are used in such nurseries for raising of seedlings in controlled
climate.
Classification According to Plants Propagated:

12. 1. Retail Nurseries: Retail nurseries raise a variety of plants for sale to
the general public.
2. Wholesale Nurseries: Wholesale nurseries usually grow a limited
range of plants on large scale for large clients or retail nurseries.
3. Private Nurseries: Private nurseries grow plants exclusively for a
single client. These nurseries are owned or contracted by the client
itself.
4. Mail Order: Mail Order Nurseries are privately owned, retail or
wholesale nurseries which provide customers a facility of shipment
right up to the door step.
Classification According to Type of Sale:

13. 1. Public Nurseries: Nurseries which are owned by some department
of the government like forest department, social forestry department,
Agriculture Department, etc.
2. Private Nurseries: Nursery business which is owned by an
individual.
3. Cooperative Nurseries: Nurseries which are owned and managed
by a group of individuals like Self Help Groups, etc.
4. Assisted Nurseries: Nurseries which are developed under various
schemes of Horticultural Board, Employment Guarantee Schemes,
etc
Classification According to Type of Ownership:

14. Types of Nurseries
• A. On the basis of irrigational facility, nurseries are classified into:
• Dry Nursery: It is ‘a nursery that is maintained without any irrigation or
other artificial watering.’
• Wet Nursery: It is ‘a nursery that is maintained by irrigation or other
artificial watering during the dry periods’.
• B. On the basis of size of seedlings, nurseries are classified into the
following types:
• Seedling nursery: A nursery which has only seedling beds, i.e., in which
seedlings only are raised, no transplanting being done is called seedling
nursery.
• Transplant nursery: A nursery which has only transplant beds, in which
seedlings are transplanted for preparation for forest planting is called
transplant nursery.

15. C. On the basis of duration of their use, nurseries are classified into:
• Temporary Nursery : It is a nursery that is maintained for supplying stock for a
short period after which it is abandoned. Normally, it is constructed in the
plantation area & usually small in size. It is suitable for hilly regions.
– Main features:
• Constructed for a short period of time and smaller is size.
• Manuring is not necessary
• Mostly located near/inside the planting area and which is approprite
chiefly for casualty replacement.
• Elaborate soil preparation is not necessary.
• Cost of transportation of seedlings to the planting sites is low
• Seedlings of different species for mixed crops
• Gap between lifting the stock from the nursery and actual planting is less
• Special supervision is not required

16. – Advantages
• Usually constructed in newly cleared sites fairly rich in humus and so,
manuring is not required. Eucalyptus nurseries are an exception
to the general rules.
• Minimum trouble with the weeds, destructive insects and diseases.
• Enables raising of species in their optimum altitudinal zone in hills.
• Cheap transport of planting stock without any serious damage or shock.
– Disadvantages
• Comparatively costly.
• Difficult to supervise.
• Proper supervision is not possible as it is made out of way places.
• Due to lack of irrigation facility, the growth of seedlings is, usually slow
and heavy mortality.

17. • Permanent Nursery: It is a nursery that is maintained for supplying nursery plants
for a long time on a permanent basis. It is intended to meet the requirements of
one or more ranges and it is relatively larger in extent.
– Main features
• Fit for large and intensive work and intensively managed
• Established wheres all the facilities are available, i.e., easy supervision,
communication facilities, labors, etc.
• Intensive Manuring and soil working are done in perpetuity
• Used for large scale afforestation works, or distribution to the villagers
under community and private forestry programme.
• A large labour forces, tools and equipments are available
• Original cost of formation is high but is cheaper in the long run
• Regular skilled supervision is done

18. – Advantages
• Varieties of planting stocks supply; such as root- shoot cuttings, grafted
plants, layering, budding, poly pot seedlings, etc.
• Duration of service life is long and production cost is reasonable.
• Meet the requirement of more ranges.
• Supervision cost is low and can be easily supervised.
• Easy transport of nursery stocks due to nearness of roads.
• Plants are raised year after year for a long time on same site.
– Disadvantage
• Transportation of seedlings is difficult and costlier.
• Establishment cost is high.
• Manuring of beds annually & intensive soil working is essential.
• Requires large labour forces through out the year which is difficult to
available in agricultural seasons.