This document provides information on plant containers and nursery equipment. It discusses the different types of containers used for growing plants, including group containers like flats and individual containers like pots. It also describes common nursery equipment such as secateurs, pruning knives, spray pumps, and wheelbarrows that are used to care for and transport plants. Modern nurseries utilize a wide range of equipment on both small and large scales, from basic hand tools to more sophisticated machinery, to help reduce costs and increase productivity.

1. WELCOME

3. PLANT CONTAINERS
AND
NURSERY EQUIPMENTS

4. 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.

5. Plant containers are two types
• 1.Group containers: plant containers used to raise plants in
groups.
it contains flats.
2.Individual containers:plant containers used to raise
individually.
it contains Pots and bands.

6. Flats
 Commercial growers usually use standard dimensions
30cm×59cm×8 cm.
 Flats are shallow plastic, styrofoam, wooden or metal trays,
with drainage holes in the bottom.
 They are useful for geminating seeds or rooting cuttings , since
they permit young plants to be moved easily.
 Galvanized iron flats used but zinc released from popular flats
could cause toxicity to plants.
 Today , flats are made up of plastic[polyethylene , polystyrene]
and come in different shapes and sizes.

8. POTS
1. Pots are round,may or may not have hole in the bottom for drainage.
2.Porous pots are made of clay or peat fibre.
3.Non porous pots are made of metal , concrete, rubber and plastic.
4.Non porous pots require less moisture compared to porous pots, but it
largely causes over wintering.
5.Porous pots leads to drainout of water.
6.Pots are used to raise transplants or raise plants to full maturity.

10. BANDS:
bands are square and are open at the bottom.
these are easily attacked by micro organisms.

11. Clay pots
• These are the oldest and most popular.
• Sizes varying from 5,10,13,15,25 cm in diameter.
• These are called as earthen pots
• These are heavy,porous and lose moisture readily.
• Usually used for growing young plants.
• Easily broken, their round shape is not economical for
storage space.
• Clay pots are used rarely used in commercial propagation.

13. 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.

15. 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.

16. Paper pots
• 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 consist of a series on interconnected paper
cells that are arranged in a honeycomb pattern that can separated
before outplanting.

18. Rubber pots
• Recycled rubber parts used to make pots.
• Pot size is stable.
• It reduces the pollution by recycling rubber tyres.

19. Plastic pots
 These are containers which are round and square shape.
 They are non porous,reuseble,lightweight,and use little surface.
 It helps 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 but will begin
to grow again transplanting results in a well distributed root
system to reduce transplant shock.

21. Plug trays
 Small-sized seedlings grown in trays from expanded
polystyrene or polythene filled usually with
a peat or compost substrate.
 Plug plants are young plants raised in small, individual cells,
ready to be transplanted into containers or a garden.

22. Polybags
 The chief advantage of using polybags is that the seedling
can be raised almost year the round under controlled conditions.
 Plantation programme will not suffer due to dry spell or shortage
of labours.

25. Advantages of plastic pots
• It can be re-useable .
• It maintains optimum moisture.
• No breakage of pots.
• Cheap cost.

26. Problems regarding to polybags
 It should be never placed straight onto soil because
roots will grow into the ground and main roots break off
when u lifting.
 Polybags are not durable and can break prematurely.
 They are normally used only once.
 These are problem for nursery waste management, do
not decay and often burn, it causes serious air pollution.

27. Root trainers
 These are usually rigid containers with internal vertical ribs, which direct
roots straight down to prevent spiral growth.
 The containers are set on frames or beds above the ground to allow air
pruning of roots as they emerge from containers.
 It also 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 are ready for planting out compared to
conventional polybags.

29. Hanging pots

30. Barrel containers

31. Tub containers

32. Tin containers

33. Nursery equipments
 A nursery can operate with basic 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.

34. Secateurs
 Secateurs are considered as the most important tool for a propagator or
nurseryman.
 It is used for removing scions , lopping off the rootstock, preparation of
scion sticks ,removal of undesirable shoots/sprouts.
 In training and pruning operations.
 Blades of secateurs should be high quality carbon blade for giving smooth
cuts to the stock and scions.

36. Pneumatic secateurs
 The pneumatic secateurs, also known as pneumatic pruning shears.
 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, accurate and swift cutting, at the same time
ensuring the quality of vines.
 The double acting piston facilitates easy pruning of even large branches.

37. PRUNING KNIFE
 It is useful for thinning delicate branches ,removing
suckers , shaping rose bushes.

38. PRUNING SAW
 These have sharp blades so that we cut large
branches easily.

39. 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
1. budding operation,
2. cutting of scion stick,
3.defoliation of leaves and removing or cutting of unwanted twigs.

40. 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.
 Slashing of thin twigs and for general-purpose cutting.

41. Grafting/budding knives
 Knife having a combined blade for grafting and budding purposes
 A grafting knife has a straight 7.5cm long blade and strong long handle
 It has a spatula at the end of a handle , which is used for lifting the bark
during budding operations
 In some knives 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.

42. Spray pumps
 To spray protective material that is insecticide/pesticide/fungicide to
eliminate pathogen or insects.
 Commonly used sprays are knapsack sprayer ,rocker sprayer , hand
sprayer or power sprayers.
 Depending upon the volume of the nursery and specific purposes
different types of sprayers are used.

43. Pruning shear
 It is made up of iron fitted with wooden handle.
 It is used to prune unwanted branches.
 Collection of scion.
 Trimming of the edges and hedges and topiary works .

44. Pots
• Pots of different shapes and sizes are used in nursery.
• They may be of clay,metal or plastic usually 10cm ,15cm, 20cm for
a single specimen.
• These are use for potting ornamental , fruit plants and samplings.

45. Grafting wax
• Wax is used by propagator to seal the graft union for preventing
moisture loss and desiccation of cells at cut surface.
• It also prevents the decay of wood by checking the entry of
pathogens.
• Types of waxes are cold and hot wax.

46. Wheel barrow
 It is manually operated small trolly , used for carrying nursery
plants , compost ,fertilizer , leaf litter etc. From one place to
another place.
 It can be designed into different shapes according to
requirements.

47. Weeding fork
 It loosens the soil and helps in weeding also
 It consists of a long handle with a blade of handle teeth.
 It drawn manually with the help of the handle to collect the
weeds.

48. Handle hoe and rake
 It is a rectangular shape metal blade with fork like fore
edge.
 It is used for digging ,hoeing,earthing ,levelling and
collecting weeds.

49. Spade
 It is used for lifting and turning the soil.
 It is used for digging the pit , preparing channels for
irrigation and drainage lines.

50. Labels
 It is use for labelling of plants before sale.
 Labels may be made of papers ,cardboard , wooden,
aluminium and plastic etc.

51. Rose can
 It is a tubular pipe with rose i.e, fitted into the can
through which water is sprinkled over the nursery
beds until the germination of seeds.
 It avoids splashing of seeds from the nursery bed due
to loose pipe irrigation and flood irrigation.

52. Hose and irrigation systems

53. scissors

54. Trowel

55.  In big wholesale nursery requires a large pool of equipments
that include
 Tractor
 Trailers
 Nursery trailers
 Transplanting equipments
 Tree spades
 Tree shears
 Power saw
 Trimmers
 Prefabricated nettings
 Pruning equipment
The scale of operation will affect the profitability .
Building equipment and delivery vehicles are also considered.
•Sprayers
•Dusters
•Irrigation systems
•Misting systems
•Plastic mulches
•Trays
•Flats
•Pressure washers
•Peat moss
•pots

56. Tractors

57. Nursery trailers

58. Tree spades

59. Potting machine

60. Tree shears

61. Trimmers

62. Power saw

63. Prefabricated nettings

64. Pruning equipment

65. Misting systems

66. Irrigation system

67. Plastic mulches

68. Flats

69. Pressure washers

70. Pots

71. Trays

72. 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.
• Purchase of more sophisticated equipment such as potting
machinery, computers,automatic irrigation might improve
overall profitability.

73. Referance
1.Plant nursery management- P K Ray,
2.Basic horticulture- Jitendra singh,
3.Nursery Raising - S.N Das

74. THANK YOU