PLANT NURSERY ESTABLISHMENT

 NURSERY ESTABLISHMENT

Nursery is a place where seeds are raised to seedlings. A nursery can be temporary, permanent,oasis nursery or floating nursery depending on the number of seedlings that needs to be raised, space availability, weather conditions,water source, accessibility,demand, terrain and the type of seed.

There are various processes involved in establishing a nursery these processes include

1.Seed procurement

2.Land clearing

3.Fencing

4.Sand filling 

5.Watering

6.Stacking

Seed application e.t.c

 SEED PROCUREMENT

A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering. The formation of the seed is part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, Seed procurement involves the collection and preservation of seeds, there are many processes involved in seed collection and preservation.

After collection some seeds are preserved inside hot water while some prefer cold water,the seed is then put inside a preservation tray for sun drying, for effective germination of seed and to avoid seed from dormancy a seed must be matured and dried up before planting.

 LAND CLEARING

Availability of land is a must requirement for establishing a nursery,the land set aside for nursery establishment must be cleared of bushes, weeds, dirts and other factors that may likely affect the function of the nursery using clearing equipments such as broom, rake, hoe e.t.c

FENCING

The land set aside for nursery establishment must be fenced using mesh wire or other fencing equipment for protection from grazing animals and for visibility

 SAND FILLING

Top soil or sand is very important for nursery establishment as it provides a medium for seed germination. Top soil is mixed with organic manure(mostly cow dung) on the ratio 2:1 shovel and hoe are used for breaking and parking of hard soil particles, nylons are picked and removed from the soil mixture it is then filled into polythene pot using funnel,the polythene pot is pierced or punched for air penetration and excess water passage. polythene pot is preferable because of the dark surface which aid germination and it reduces the growth of weed.

WATERING

Watering is the method of pouring water on plants, after a mixture of Sand and cow dung is filled into polythene pot it is watered continuously until grasses appear this indicate the fertility of the soil and helps in decomposing the cation and reduces the heaviness of the ion.

STACKING

Stacking is the method of arranging sand filled polythene pot to make a complete seed bed(A seedbed is an area of ground, usually with specially prepared earth, where young plants are grown from seed.)spacing between one seed bed and another is essential as it aids accessibility, makes watering easy and for counting purpose.

 SEED APPLICATION

After stacking the next step is seed application, seed is applied on the prepared seedbed and watering continues. The length of the plant(seedlings) is measured from time to time to monitor growth progress.

In some cases seed bed is prepared directly on the ground (ground bed), and are later transplanted to polythene pot, it is observed that seed shoots faster when planted on ground bed than on polythene pot, but there is need for transplanting afterwards to reduce competition for nutrients among young seedlings.

 INSTRUMENTS USED IN NURSERY ESTABLISHMENT

1.Watering can

2.Funnel

3.Hoe

4.Rake

5.Brooms

6.Wheel barrow

7.Shovel

8.Polythene pot

FACTORS AFFECTING SEED GERMINATION

Extremely cold weather

1.Seed dormancy

2.Lack of water

3.Grazing

4.Other disturbances such as chicks, and lizards