After reading this article you will learn about Nursery Raising as a technique for generating more income from small land holdings:1. Nursery Raising of Vegetables 2. Nursery Raising of Seasonal Flowers 3. Nursery Raising for Fruit Plants 4. Nursery Preparation of Agroforestry Plants
Nursery Raising of Vegetables:
There is always shortage of quality seedlings of vegetables. So, there is huge scope to produce nursery of vegetables. Especially, small fanners can earn more income by raising nursery of vegetables. Only the nursery of those vegetables can be raised successfully which can tolerate the transplanting shock e.g., tomato, chilli, capsicum, brinjal, onion, cauliflower, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, broccoli, lettuce etc.
The following points must be kept in mind while nursery raising of these vegetables:
1. Selection of Land:
Select the land for nursery raising which got at least 8 hours sunshine. It should be free from stones and shade of any big tree. There should be assured supply of water and drainage of excess water from nursery area. Loamy or sandy loam soil is considered best for nursery raising.
2. Seed Bed Preparation:
After well preparation of land, prepare seed bed of 1.0-1.25 m wide and 15 cm high from the ground level. Normally the seed bed should be 3-4 metre in length but if field is levelled well then length can be increased. Before preparing seed bed, apply well rotten FYM @ 3-4 q per marla (25 square metre) area. Irrigate the field atleast 10 days before sowing the seed in the nursery so that all the weeds can germinate and there will be less problem of weeds in the nursery.
3. Soil Treatment:
Treat the soil with formalin @ 1.5- 2.0 % before sowing the seed to protect the nursery from soil borne diseases. For preparation of solution, add 15-20 ml Formalin (1.5-2.0%) in 1 litre of water and apply 2-3 litres of this solution in 1 m2 area in such a way that 15 cm upper layer of soil may saturate with this solution. After this, cover the beds with polythene sheet and air tight for 72 hours. Turn the soil in beds once a day for 3-4 days to eliminate formalin and sow the seedlings in the nursery.
4. Seed Treatment and Sowing:
Treat the seed with Captan or Thiram @ 3g per kg of seed before sowing to protect it from seed borne diseases. Sow seeds 1-2 cm deep in lines with 5 cm spacing. Irrigate the nursery with sprinkler till the seedlings emerge out.
5. Caring of Nursery Plants:
Sometimes seedlings start dying before or after germination in the nursery. Under such circumstances, drench the nursery area with Captan or Thiram @ 3-4 g per litre of water and repeat it after 7-10 days.
Transplant seedling of vegetables after 4-6 weeks of sowing. Stop watering 3-4 days before transplanting the nursery so that seedlings can tolerate the transplanting shock. Transplanting should be done in the evening hours and immediately irrigate the field.
The detailed information regarding nursery raising of different vegetables for transplanting one acre area is given below:
Nursery Raising of Seasonal Flowers:
The demand of pot plants has been increased with the development of multi-storey buildings for ever growing population. These are used for decoration of offices, hotels, houses etc. There is a huge demand of seasonal pot plants and chrysanthemum, dahlia and seasonal flowers give more profit.
The business of flower nursery is beneficial near the big cities. Zinnia, Kochia and Sunflower can be grown in summer season. Marigold, Gul Ashrafi, Ice plant, Garden pea, Phlox etc. are winter season flowers.
Method of Nursery Preparation of Seasonal Flowers:
Almost all seasonal flowers are prepared in nursery. Nursery can be prepared on raised seed beds or pots. For preparation of nursery, mix soil, leaf mould, FYM in 1:1:1 proportion and add 75 g CAN, 75 g Super Phosphate and 45 g Murate of Potash per m3 area. Apply 2-3 cm thick layer of this mixture on raised seed beds. After sowing, cover the seed with this mixture and irrigate it with sprinkler. Keep the seed beds moist. Nursery is ready in 30-40 days.
Nursery Raising for Fruit Plants:
Nursery of fruit plants is prepared by two methods:
1. From Seeds:
It is easy and cheapest method to produce plants. Fruit plants like Papaya, Karonda, Jamun and Phalsa are multiplied through seeds. However, the plants prepared from seeds are not true to type, uniform and moreover they attain large size. The management of these plants is very difficult. So the plants which are difficult to prepare from seed are prepared by root stock method.
2. Vegetative Propagation:
By this method, uniform and true to type plants can be produced. The plants prepared by this method bear fruit early.
Mainly, the fruit plants like Mango, Citrus, Pear, Guava, Peach, Grapes, Pomegranate etc. are propagated by following methods:
a. By Cutting:
It is very cheapest and easy method to grow plants. In this method, stem cuttings are placed in suitable environmental conditions so that rooting and shooting may start and new plants may develop. By this method, commonly citrus, pomegranate and grapes can be prepared. Cutting should be 15-20 cm and have 3- 5 buds. Before sprouting in spring season, cuttings should be planted at 6-8′ distance in the nursery.
b. Layering:
In this method, new plants are forced to root while attached to the mother plant. In simple layering, the ring of bark is removed from the 20-30 cm tip of the shoot and it is buried in the soil from the place of removed ring keeping the terminal end of shoot exposed. The soil should remain moist and rooting will emerge after few weeks from this portion. Then separate the plant from mother plant and plant it in nursery or pot.
c. Budding:
In this method, healthy scion having 1-2 buds from mother plants are inserted to the root stock. The buds should be taken from healthy plants having good quality fruits and free from diseases. A cut should be given in the bark of rootstock so that the bud can be fitted precisely in this cut.
After insertion of bud, a tape should be tightly tied around the cut part of root stock keeping the tip of the bud exposed. Budding should be done during spring and rainy season.
d. Grafting:
It is similar to budding except that the scion stick having 3-4 buds is turned in place of single bud. The different methods of grafting are performed in different fruit plants e.g. side grafting in mango and tounge grafting in pear and peach.
Nursery Preparation of Agroforestry Plants:
In Punjab, the area under forest cover is negligible. Environmental experts are emphasizing on agroforestry for maintaining natural balance and diversification of agriculture. Poplar, eucalyptus, Drake and Sisham are important agroforestry tree species which are being grown by the farmers of Punjab.
Nursery preparation of these tree species is given as:
1. Poplar:
It is a major tree of agroforestry landscape. For this species, nursery should be prepared from one year old plant but not from training and pruning of branches of old plants. Cuttings should be 20-25 cm in length and 2-3 cm in diameter.
To protect the cuttings from termite and diseases, the cuttings are treated with 0.5 % solution of Chlorpyriphos 20 EC and 0.5 % Emisan solution for 10 minutes each, separately. The ideal time for nursery raising is mid-January to mid-February.
After through preparation of beds, dig holes of equal length of cutting in the soil with the help of planting rod at a spacing of 60×60 cm or 50×50 cm. Plant the cuttings in the soil after keeping one bud of the cutting above the soil.
Keep the soil moist till the sprouting of cuttings start. Irrigation and hoeing is done as and when required. Remove buds of 1/3 part of plant by rubbing with wet gunny bag. The plants are ready to transplant in the field after one year.
2. Safeda:
Safeda is a fast growing tree. For preparing of its quality nursery, select healthy and well grown middle aged trees to collect seeds. Collect seeds from the branches of trees only and not from the ground surface. Seed collected from good plants will produce healthy planting stock. February-March or September-October is the best time of raising nursery on raised beds or in pots.
3. Drake:
Its nursery is commonly propagated from seeds. Seeds should be collected from healthy, well growing and tall plants during winter. The germination of seed is less (30-40%) due to its hard seed coat. Before sowing, the seeds are soaked in water for 24 hours or buried in FYM for 7 days to improve their germination.
The best time for nursery sowing is February-March. Seeds are sown in seed beds at 20 cm distance. Seeds start germinating after 3 weeks of sowing. Thinning should be done at 15 cm spacing when plants attain a height of 5-8 cm. The plants are ready for transplanting after one year or even six months.
4. Sisham:
Sisham is a state tree of Punjab. Collect ripped pods in December-January from healthy and straight trees. Nursery can be prepared in poly bags or in seed beds or in pots. Suitable time for nursery sowing is mid-January-February and July- August.
Before sowing, soak pods in cool water for 48 hours. Sow the seed 1.0-1.5 cm deep. Germination of seeds starts after 10-15 days of sowing. When the plants attain height of 5-10 cm, thinning should be done keeping 15 X 10 cm spacing.