Progeny Trees:
The bud-sticks/graft wood should always be taken from healthy and true-to-type progeny trees, free from viruses’ diseases and insect-pests. The past history and the performance of these trees must also be known. Suitable fruit crops should be selected to meet the demand of the customers.
There should be a collection of good number of promising varieties of popular crops to make a wide choice. A nurseryman should have progeny trees of all the commercial cultivars of fruits that can be grown in that particular area.
Raising of Rootstocks and Propagation Techniques:
The rootstocks are known to have a profound effect on the vigour, productivity, precocity, fruit quality and tree longevity of scion varieties grafted or budded into them. They also influence the susceptibility of scion trees to various diseases and pests. It is now well recognised that optimum performance of scion cultivar depends on the proper selection of rootstocks for a given set of agro-climatic conditions.
In order to achieve success in orcharding, not only it is important to select a right type of stock for the particular fruit or cultivar, but it is equally important to raise the stock seedlings in a proper manner so that there is good germination and the stock seedlings are ready for budding/grafting in the shortest possible time. There should be adequate arrangement for the supply of rootstock seeds of desired kinds and varieties. It will be desirable to have rootstock trees in the nursery itself.
The information with regard to rising of rootstocks and using different propagation techniques are discussed in detail under individual fruit.
Care of Young Nursery Plants:
The young nursery plants need intensive care to make them grow well and to save them from vagaries of weather. They must be provided protection against intense heat and cold.
(A) Protection against Hot Weather:
In North India, the temperature during May and June is very high. The nursery plants need much more attention and adequate protection against the hot sun. The tolerance of the fruit plants to withstand high temperature varies greatly with species.
Fruit plants such as, mango, litchi, citrus, papaya, etc. are more liable to damage from hot weather as compared with other fruit plants. The following measures should be adopted to save the fruit plants from sun injury and adverse effects of hot weather.
Erection of Thatches:
The young nursery plants can be conveniently protected by erecting thatches made of sarkanda, parali (rice straw) or Khajoor (date palm) leaves over them. Sowing of Jantar around nursery beds during February-March affords good protection against severe heat and loo, (hot winds), in the hot months of April-June. Arhar can also be planted in the nursery rows which provide shade and minimise the sunburn injury.
Windbreaks:
The windbreaks should be planted before establishing of fruit nursery. Eucalyptuses, Mango seedling, Shisham (Tahli), Jaman, Mulberry, Arjan, Karonda etc., are the most effective windbreaks.
Irrigation:
The frequency of irrigation should be increased during the hot period of May-June, when desiccating winds generally blow and cause higher losses due to evaporation and transpiration.
(B) Protection from Cold:
December and January are the coolest months in North India when the occurrence of frost is quite common. Sometimes, late frost may also occur in February. Both early and late frosts are more dangerous and inflict heavy damages to the nursery plants. Weak and sickly plants and those suffering from malnutrition are more prone to frost injury than healthy and vigorous plants.
The following protection measures should be adopted:
i. Frost Tolerant Plants:
In localities, where frost incidence is more common, raise only those nursery plants which can withstand frost damage. In such localities, raise deciduous plants like Apple, peaches, plums, pears, almond, apricot, grapes, etc., or raise relatively more tolerant evergreen plants like sweet orange, loquat, ber, etc.
ii. Planting Windbreak:
Always plants windbreaks on the northern and western sides of the nursery which afford protection from the cold waves during the winter season.
iii. Covering with Thatches:
The nursery beds of Jatti Khatti as well as susceptible plants like those of mango, litchi, citrus, papaya, etc., should be covered with Sarkanda thatches. The other farm-waste materials like sugarcane trash, rice straw (parali), maize stalks, etc., can be used for the preparation of thatches. The south-west side should be left open to allow sufficient sunlight.
iv. Providing Smoke Screens:
The nurserymen should keep ready heaps of dry leaves, grass or trash in the nursery at several places. As and when a frost is threatened or imminent, these heaps should be ignited and allowed to burn slowly. The fire and smoke raises the atmospheric temperature of the nursery by a few degrees and thus the young fruit plants are saved from the frost injury.
v. Irrigation:
An easy and more practical method to ward off frost is to irrigate the nursery as and when frost is threatened. Irrigation during cold spell period is most necessary.
Weeding and Hoeing:
The weeds grow frequently in the nursery, water-channels, roads and paths. They compete with young and tender nursery plants for water and nutrients. Eradication of these weeds should be done from time to time. The weeds on the paths and roadside should also be destroyed, so that they do not shed their seeds into the orchard soil.
For the destruction of weeds like ‘baru’, ‘kahi’, ‘Motha’, etc. special efforts would be needed to clean the area of these obnoxious and hardy weeds. The nursery area should be kept scrupulously clean. The weeds can be effectively controlled with chemicals. Diuron as pre-emergence herbicide and glyphosate or gramoxone as post-emergence herbicides can be tried in fruit nursery with good success.