Agnes C. Perey, Ph.

D
Tarlac Agricultural University
agneshannajv@gmail.com
0928-962-1502
 These are accessories which are being pulled
by working animals or mounted to
machineries which are usually used in the
preparation of land
 a place where plants are grown, nurtured
and sold out. Generally, various commercial
crop growers require a good quality saplings
or grafts of genuine type
 Temporary nursery

This type of nursery is developed only to

fulfill the requirement of the season or a
targeted project.
 Permanent nursery
This type of the nursery is placed
permanently so as to produce plants
continuously.
 Fruit plant Nurseries
In this nursery seedlings and grafts of fruit crops are
developed.
 Vegetable nurseries
In this nursery seedlings of cauliflower, cabbage and tomato
are prepared.
 Flowers plants nurseries
The seedlings of flowering plants like gerbera, carnation,
petunia, salvia, rose, chrysanthemum, coleus, aster, dianthus are
developed in this nurseries. •
 Forest nurseries
The seedlings of plants useful for forestation like pine, oak,
teak, eucalyptus, are prepared and sold.

 Miscellaneous nurseries
In such type of nurseries plants with great economic value,
rare and medicinal, herbal plants are propagated. In this nursery
plants like geranium, rose, calendula, and marigold are
propagated.
 Nearness of road
 Near a habitat
 Suitable climate
 Neither shady nor exposed area
 Sufficient sunlight
 Good irrigation facilities
 Good soil condition
 Good transport facility
 can be defined as a substance through which
plant roots grow and extract water and
nutrients
 Selecting a good growing medium is
fundamental to good nursery management
and is the foundation of a healthy root
system
 Physical Properties of Growing Media
 Water-Holding Capacity • The water-holding capacity
of a medium is defined as the percentage of total
pore space that remains filled with water after gravity
drainage. • A good growing medium has a high
water holding capacity but also contains enough
macropores to allow excess water to drain away and
prevent waterlogging.
 Physical Properties of Growing Media
 Water-Holding Capacity • The water-holding capacity
of a medium is defined as the percentage of total
pore space that remains filled with water after gravity
drainage. • A good growing medium has a high
water holding capacity but also contains enough
macropores to allow excess water to drain away and
prevent waterlogging.
 The percentage of pore space that remains
filled with air after excess water has drained
away
 A good growing medium, especially for
rooting cuttings, contains a high percentage
of macropores.
 Porosity • The total porosity of a growing
medium is the sum of the space in the
macropores and micropores; plants need
both.
 A growing medium composed primarily of
large particles will have more aeration and
less water-holding capacity than a medium of
smaller particles, which will have less
aeration and more water-holding capacity
 Bulk Density • Media bulk density is the weight
per volume and varies with the inherent bulk
density of its ingredients and how much they are
compressed. • An ideal growing medium is
lightweight enough to facilitate handling and
shipping while still having enough weight to
provide physical support.
 For a given container type and growing medium,
excessive bulk density indicates compaction.
 Bulk density and porosity are inversely related;
when bulk density increases, porosity decreases.
 Fertility
Rapidly growing young plants use up the
stored nutrients in their seeds soon after
emergence. • Thereafter, plants must rely on
the growing medium to meet their increasing
demands for mineral nutrients.
 pH
The pH of growing medium is a measure
of its relative acidity or alkalinity. pH values
range from 0 to 14; those below 7 are acidic
and those above 7 are alkaline.
 Growing media may contain pathogenic
bacteria or fungi.
 Growing media ingredients that may contain
pathogens can be treated with sterilization or
pasteurization before use
 Growing Media Ingredients
 Many tropical nurseries mix growing media
themselves.
 Some purchase premixed commercial brands.
 Some may mix their own media for larger
containers, but purchase sterile media for
germinants
 A typical growing medium is a composite of
two or three ingredients selected to provide
certain physical, chemical, or biological
properties. Mixtures of organic and inorganic
ingredients are popular because these
materials have opposite, yet complementary,
properties
Organic Ingredients
 Common organic ingredients include
compost, coconut coir, peat moss, bark, rice
hulls, sawdust or any other appropriate,
locally available material.
 Compost • Because of the risks of using soils
and the expense of importing peat moss,
many tropical nurseries prefer organic
compost as a green alternative to peat moss
 Inorganic Ingredients
Inorganic materials are added to growing
media to produce and maintain a structural
system of macropores that improves aeration
and drainage.
 Perlite is a siliceous material of volcanic
origin
 Pumice is a type of volcanic rock
consisting of mostly silicon dioxide and
aluminum oxide with small amounts of
iron, calcium, magnesium, and sodium
 Vermiculite is a common component
and is a hydrated aluminum-iron-
magnesium silicate material that has an
accordion-like structure.
 Sand is one of the most readily available
materials and is relatively inexpensive.
 Polystyrene is more commonly known by its
trademarked name Styrofoam
 Seed Propagation Media
For germinating seeds or establishing
germinants (sprouting seeds), the medium
must be sterile and have a finer texture to
maintain high moisture around the
germinating seeds.
 Rooting Cuttings Media. Cuttings are rooted
with frequent misting, so the growing
medium must be very porous to prevent
water logging and allow good aeration
necessary for root formation.
 Transplant Media. When smaller seedlings or
rooted cuttings are transplanted into larger
containers, the growing medium is typically
coarser
 Flushing out salts may be necessary for
materials such as coir, sand, sawdust from
mills near the ocean, and composts with
excessive soluble salt levels.
 Sterilization refers to the complete
elimination of all living organisms whereas
pasteurization targets pathogenic fungi and
bacteria
 Sterilization refers to the complete
elimination of all living organisms whereas
pasteurization targets pathogenic fungi and
bacteria
 Soil solarization is a nonchemical method for
controlling soilborne pests using high
temperatures produced by capturing radiant
energy from the sun.
 Softening seed coat and other seed coverings
This helps in better absorption of water
and gases, which ultimately leads to better
germination of the seeds. This can be
achieved by scarification.
 Scarification
Scarification is the process of breaking,
scratching, mechanically altering or softening
the seed covering to make it permeable to
water and gases.
 Mechanical scarification
It is simple and effective if suitable
equipment is available.
Chipping hard seed coat by rubbing with
sand paper, cutting with a file or cracking
with a hammer are simple methods useful for
small amount of relatively large seeds
 Acid scarification
Dry seeds are placed in containers and
covered with concentrated Sulphuric acid
(H2SO4) or HCl in the ratio of one part of
seed to two parts of acid.
 Hot water scarification
Drop the seeds into 4-5 times their
volume of hot water with temperature
ranging from 77 to 100oC.
The heat source is immediately removed,
and the seeds soaked in the gradually
cooking water for 12 to 24 hours. •
 Warm moist scarification
The seeds are placed in moist warm
medium for many months to soften the seed
coat and other seed coverings through
microbial activity.
 Stratification
◦ a method of handling dormant seed in which the
imbibed seeds are subjected to a period of chilling
to after ripen the embryo in alternate layers of sand
or soil for a specific period.

Outdoor stratification
If refrigerated storage facilities are not available,
outdoor stratification may be done either by storing
seeds in open field conditions in deep pits or in
raised beds enclosed on wooden frames.
 Refrigerated stratification
An alternative to outdoor field
stratification is refrigerated stratification