Nursery raising under protected structures

how to nursery of vegetable crops under protected structures
greenhouse

1. Raising nursery of warm season vegetable crops under protected structure SUBMITTED TO DR. MONISHA RAWAT DEPARTMENT OF HORTICULTURE SUBMITTED BY –CHANDA KUMARI REGISTRATION NO. -11919701

2. Contents Introduction Advantages of protected structures Types of protected structures Difference between field grown seedlings and container grown seedlings Components of protected structures Sowing Nutrient management Disease management Pest management Packaging and transportation constraints References

3. Nursery " A vegetable nursery is a place or an establishment for raising or handling of young vegetable seedlings until they are ready for more permanent planting .“ Or Nursery is a place where seedlings, cuttings and grafts are raised with care before transplanting.

4. Types of Nursery beds i . Temporary nursery – This type of nursery is developed only to fulfill the requirement of the season or a targeted project. The nurseries for production of seedlings of transplanted vegetables and flower crops are of temporary nature. Likewise temporary arrangement for growing forest seedlings for planting in particular area can also be done in temporary nursery. ii. Permanent nursery – This type of nursery is placed permanently so as to produce plants continuously. These nurseries have all the permanent features. The permanent nursery has permanent mother plants. The work goes on continuously all the year round in this nursery.

5. According to position it may of three types i . Raised bed nursery: Beds are raised 10-15 cm above the level of the ground. In areas having high rainfall raised beds are prepared. ii. Sunken bed nursery: Beds are prepared 10-15 cm below the level of the ground. In dry and arid regions sunken beds are prepared. iii. Flatbed nursery: The beds are at ground level. It is usually followed to conserve the soil moisture for long period. Well-drained soil is required. SUNKEN BEDS RAISED BEDS

6. According to type of plants produced nurseries are classified in to following types i ) Fruit plant Nurseries ii) Vegetable nurseries iii) Flowers plants nurseries iv) Forest nurseries v) Miscellaneous nurseries

7. Protected structures; Protected structures  are those structures that allow the process of growing crops in a controlled environment. This means that the temperature, humidity, light and such other factors can be regulated as per requirement of the crop.  e.g greenhouse, polyhouse , shade net house etc.

8. Advantages of protected structures Enables Growing of crops and raising nursery anywhere and anytime. Provides Protection from adverse climatic conditions Improved survival rate and better yield. Gives opportunity for Off-season nursery and off-season cultivation. Ensures Production of disease free quality planting material .. Saves water through micro-irrigation system

9. Cont… Barren and uncultivable land may be brought under use. More profit due to continuous supply throughout the year. Ideal for growing genetically modified crops and tissue culture raised plantlets. Suitable for production of high value crops for export purpose. Less chemical residue for better protection against insect-pests and pathogens.

10. Types of nursery

11. Green house Plastic house Shade house Lath house

12. Hot beds Cold frames Mist chamber Plastic tunnel Net house Poly-house

13. Difference between field grown seedlings and container grown seedlings Singh and peter 2014 S.No Traditional method Modern method 1. More seeds required for raising seedlings. For example hybrids seeds 100g per acre required for tomato. Less seeds required for raising seedlings compared to traditional method. For example hybrids seed 70g per acre required 2. Disinfect the nursery area by solarization . Use clean trays. 3. Prepare seed beds about 3m X 1m in size and 20 cm heights. Use the correct cell size according to the crop. For example, cucurbit crops require larger cell size than other vegetable crops. 4. Prepare the nursery bed soil loose and friable and sow seed in lines about 5 cm apart and 1-2 cm deep. Adjust the planting depth according to the seed size. Prepare growing media: normally coco peat mixes with bio-fertilizer were used. Sown one seed in each cell at a depth of 0.5 to 1.0 cm. 5. Cover the nursery bed with paddy straw or dry leaves for germination. Cover the trays with black polyethylene sheet for germination 6. More loss of expensive seeds Less loss of expensive seeds.

14. Principle of Polyhouse

15. Types of poly-house depending on cost Low cost poly-house (naturally ventilated) Medium cost poly-house High cost poly-houses Low cost poly-house Medium cost polyhouse High cost poly-house

16. Components of greenhouse structures Framing materials Wood Aluminum framing Galvanized iron pipes Cladding materials UV stabilized polyethylene, polyester or poly vinyl film (100 & 200 micron thick) Poly vinyl rigid panel, fiberglass-reinforced plastic (88-90% light transmission), acrylic(8 and 16 mm thick) or polycarbonate rigid panel (4, 6, 8, 10 and 16 mm thick) - Single, double or triple layer

17. Cont.. Agro-shade net (10 to 90% shading) Glass (diffused, haze glass and rigid fiberglass) Pre-painted G.I. sheet insulated with poly urethane foam Foundation Concrete Natural Flooring Cemented Natural Gravel/stone

18. Common physical structures of protected nurseries ( Roy et al., 2015 ) Mist propagation unit Agro-shade net house Polyhouse or polytunnel Lath house (sun and wind protection) Cold frame Hot bed Growth chamber Germination chamber Glass house Controlled environment greenhouse Tissue culture laboratory Nutriculture unit ( for hydroponics)

19. Things to consider before locating a greenhouse Location and accessibility of site Availability and initial cost of land Availability, cost and quality of water sources Availability and cost of inputs Soil properties Land characteristics, topography and elevation Availability and cost of skilled labor Proximity to market and transportation facility Temperature (min/max), wind pattern, slope and exposure Room for expansion

20. Modern facilities in a hi-tech nursery a ) Irrigation system . b) Sensors . c) Fertigation unit d) CO2 generator e ) Heating unit f) Cooling unit g ) Agro-chemical application unit h) Photoperiodic lighting i ) Propagation and nursery tools j ) Propagation bench k) Nursery trolley and conveyors l ) Plant container, root trainer and sowing tray or portray m) Automation n ) Robotics o ) Greenhouse & nursery management software :

21. Components and process involved in modern nursery raising system Seedling tray Media Mechanization Irrigation Nutrition Light and seed pelleting Priming Biological enhancement Hardening.

22. Seedling tray Choice of tray cell size (number and volume) to grow seedlings depends on several factors seed size Economics plant growth rates market demands Seedlings grown in larger cells are taller and have greater dry weight than those grown in small cells [Smith and Duval 1998]. Tomato, brinjal , capsicum, chilli , watermelon, broccoli, cauliflower , cabbage , onion and muskmelon were reported to have earlier yields and rapid growth when grown in larger cells .

23. Media Media is one of the important components for modern nursery raising system. Successful nursery production is largely dependent on the chemical and physical properties of the growing media. Physical properties A growing media must be sterile It should have cation exchange capacity (CEC). pH and nutrient buffering capacity. 1.) Soil System or Geoponics 2.)Soil l e ss cultu r e : Media used are: Co c ope a t , pe r l it e , v er m ic u l i t e, s a w d u s t , r ock w oo l , peanut hulls, rice hulls or the mixtures. 3.) Hydroponics or water culture 4.) Aeroponics HYDROPONICS AEROPONICS

24. Seed pelleting and priming Many vegetable seeds that are sown for seedling are small or big and irregular shaped. Most commercial seedlings producers use drum vacuum seeders thus, these types of seeds should be pelleted or coated. Pelleting builds up seed size and uniformity by layering the seed with layers of clay type material and binder. Seeds normally pelleted include tomato, brinjal , chilli , onion, lettuce and celery. Seed coating is accomplished by applying wet solutions containing a dye and many times fungicides or other chemical treatments. The coating does not build up seed size, nor does it change the shape of the seed. The coating makes the seeds more flowable in the seeders. Species that are commonly coated include cucumber, watermelon, squash and melon. Using dyes in the coating or pelleting process allows the seeds to be more visible at sowing .

25. SEED PRIMING “Seed priming is a controlled hydration technique in which seeds are soaked in water or low osmotic potential solution to a point where germination related metabolic activities begin in the seeds but radical emergence does not occur.” (Heydecker and Coolbear, 1977; Bradford, 1986; McDonald, 2000; Farooq et al., 2007)

26. Seed Enhancements “ Seed enhancements are the pre germination treatments that improve the germination rate, time and seedling growth required at the time of sowing.” The purpose of seed treatments is to shorten the time between planting and emergence. (Black and Peter , 20 1 6 ) Treat the seeds with Trichoderma viride 4 g or Pseudomonas fluorescens 10 g or Carbendazim 2 g per kg of seeds 24 hours before sowing. Just before sowing, treat the seeds with Azospirillum @ 40 g / 400 g of seeds.

27. Germination of Primed Seeds IRREGULARITIE s IN SEED GERMINATION POOR QUALITY SEEDS UNIFORMITY IN THE GERMINATION OF PRIMED SEEDS

28. Sowing Sowing can be done either manually or mechanically The transplant tray is the first area that facilitates mechanization both in seedling and potentially automatic field transplanting . Essentially all seedling transplant operations have mechanized the seeding process. Trays are loaded in bulk onto a line where they are filled with media, dibbled, sown via a vacuum drum seeder, topped with vermiculite, watered and then stacked by hand. Operators have to inspect the line, stack trays to fill, and stack the filled flats as they come off the line. This process is enhanced if the seeds are pelleted , round and of reasonable size. More sophisticated seedling operations use robots to load and unload flats onto benches. Fig. Prototype precision plug seeder (source Gaikwaad and Sirohi 2018). Dibbler

29. Germination Warm temperature and uniform moisture are important for successful seed germination. Many seed germination chamber systems are commercially available including custom built germination units. Many growers use bottom heat or root zone heating to provide warm, even temperature. A weed mat (Black polyethylene) is placed on the top of the bench to help spread the heat with skirts on the side to help contain the heat. Tomato seeds germinate are best at 210C. The ideal root zone temperature is 26 to 290C during the first four weeks of growth and 20 to 260C during the fifth and sixth weeks. In brinjal seed germinate at 21 to 240C. Chilli seed germinate at 28 to 320C [1].

30. Healthy nursery of potential crops for protected cultivation cucum b e r T om a t o c a p sicum Fibrous root growth

31. Temperature requirements of warm season vegetable crops Crop Minimum ( oF )) Optimum range( oF ) Optimum ( oF ) Maximum ( oF ) Tomato 20 70-95 85 95 brinjal 60 75-90 85 95 Chilli 60 65-95 85 95 Okra 60 70-95 95 105 Cabbage 40 45-95 85 100 Cauliflower 40 45-85 80 100 bean 60 60-85 80 95 Source : Kimble and Musgrove (2006)

32. Irrigation Seedlings can be irrigated Above the plants (requires boom and nozzle) Sub irrigation via ebb and flow(system requires concrete floors and a recycling system for the water Irrigation may be applied using hose pipe, watering cane, overhead sprinklers, travelling boom irrigator, misting or fogging system, drip irrigation (surface as well as sub-surface) etc. Basin/trench irrigation and sub-surface drip irrigation are used for maintaining the mother block.

33. Nutrition and soil health S.No Function source 1. For supply of plant nutrients Soil, vermicompost , concentrated organic manures (blood meal, bone meal, fish meal, soybean meal, cotton seed meal, oil cakes etc.) and mineral amendments (dolomite, green sand, rock dust, rock phosphate, sulphate of potash etc.) 2. For moisture retention Compost, peat moss, coco peat, coir fibre , vermiculite, leaf mold 3. For adequate drainage Coarse sand, perlite 4. For adequate aeration Coarse sand, perlite, vermiculite, leaf mold 5. For optimum pH Dolomite lime or Calcified sea weed (to adjust upward), Sulphur (to adjust down)

34. n Nitrogen difficiency Potasssium difficiency Phoshorous difficiency Magnesium difficiency

35. Disease and pest management Diseases Fungicides Bacterial wilt Captan (2.5gm)+ bavistin (1gm) Powdery mildew Carathane (1gm/ lt ) Damping off Indofil M-45 (2.5gm/kg seed ) Alternaria leaf spot Blitox (3 gm/ lt ) Fusarium wilt Carathane (1gm/ lt ) Blossom end rot Calcium chloride (5gm/ lt ) Insect Insecticide White fly Acetamiprid Thrips Metasysstox Aphids Roger Spodoptera Spodocyte Mites Dicofol Nematode Carbofuron Diseases Fungicides Bac t e r ial wilt Captan(2.5gm)+bavistin (1gm) P o w d e r y mildew Carathane (1gm/lt) Damping off Indofil M-45 (2.5gm/kg seed ) Alt e r na r ia leaf spot Blitox (3 gm/lt) Fusarium wilt Carathane (1gm/lt) Blossom end rot Calcium chloride (5gm/lt) Common insect pest of nursery and their management

36. Common seed treatments in vegetable nursery S.No Crop disease management 1. tomato, brinjal and chilli Damping off Treat the seeds with Metalaxyl 35% SD + Thiram 75% WP @ 2.5 g each/kg seeds. 2. beans Anthracnose & Rhizoctonia web blight Treat seed with Carbendazim 50 WP @ 2g/Kg seed 3. Pea Aschochyta blight & wilt Treat seed with Carbendazim 50 WP @ 2g/ Kg seed 4. onion Purple blotch Treat the seeds with Captan or Thiram @ 3g/kg seeds before nursery sowing 5. onion Damping off Treat the seeds with Metalaxyl 35% SD + Thiram 75% WP @ 2.5 g each/kg seeds. 6. Cole crops Black rot Soak seed in tap water for 30 minutes followed by hot water dip at 520C for 30 minutes and finally by giving a same duration dip in Streptocycline solution (1 g/ 10 L water).

37. Hardening H ardening includes any treatment that makes the tissue firm to perform better during unfavorable environment like low temperature high temperature and hot dry wind . Hardening is the physiological process of whereby plant accumulates more carbohydrates reserve and produces an additional cuticle on the leaves. In the process seedling are given some artificial shocks at least 7-10 days before uprooting and transplanting . Seedling are exposed to the full sunlight , all the seedling needs , polythene sheets should be removed and irrigation is stopped slowly and slowly. Technique of Hardening Hardening can be done by following ways. By holding watering to the watering to the plant by 4-5 days before transplanting Lowering the temperature also retards the growth aids to the hardening process. By application of 4000 ppm Nacl with the irrigation water or by spraying of 2000 ppm of cycoel .

38. cont… Effect of Hardening Following effect must be observed by the hardening Hardening improves the quality and modify the nature of colloids ion the plant cell enabling them to resist the loss of water. Hardening improves the presence of dry  matter and regards in the plant but decrease the percentage of feasible water and transpiration per unit area of leaf. Decrease the rate of growth in the plant. Harden plants withstand better against unfavorable weather condition like hot day, wind and low temperature. Hardening of plants increases the waxy covering the leaves of cabbage.

39. The marketable stages of nursery plants of some important vegetable crops S.No Crop Marketable stage 1. Brinjal 4-5 weeks old seedling, 12-15 cm in height, 6-8 leaf stage 2. Broccoli 4-6 weeks old seedling 3. Chilli /Capsicum 6-7 weeks old seedling, 15-20 cm in height 4. Lettuce 4-5 weeks old seedling 5. Onion 6-8 weeks old seedling, 20-25 cm in height 6. Tomato 3-4 weeks old seedling, 12-15 cm in height, 4-6 leaf stage 7. Cauliflower/Cabbage 3-5 weeks old seedling Source : Handbook of Seed and Planting Material Testing Manual for Horticultural Crops, ICAR.

40. Packaging and transportation Thorat et al. (2011) defined packing as placing the nursery plants or propagating materials into a suitable container for maintaining their viability and vitality during storage and transport. Proper packaging minimizes desiccation and protects the planting material from hazards caused during transport and prevents them from microbial and insect damage .

41. Packing materials Paddy straw, sphagnum moss, dry grass , banana leaves and newspaper etc. For wrapping the earthen ball of the saplings Bamboo-matted box/basket, Polythene lined bags, Corrugated fiber box, Plastic crates, Hessian cloth, Sacking cloth etc -For bulbs, tubers, rhizomes and corms. Cardboard box, plastic container, Cardboard -For seedlings/cuttings/grafts/layers Moistened moss grass For wrapping up the delicate planting material such as vegetable Refrigerated container - For seed or vegetative propagule of high value plants

42. cont… Transport vehicle Seedling trays arranged in plastic crates ready for transportation

43. Constraints ™Lack of specialised techniques in vegetable production. ™Lack of sufficient money to construct the protected structures. ™Production cost of vegetable is higher. ™Lack of skilled knowledge. ™Higher seed cost. ™Lack of market accessibility and cold storage unit.

44. References Mishra , G. P., Singh, N., Kumar, H., & Singh, S. B. (2010). Protected cultivation for food and nutritional security at Ladakh .  Defence Science Journal ,  60 (2), 219. Wani , K. P., Singh, P. K., Amin , A., Mushtaq , F., & Dar, Z. A. (2011). Protected cultivation of tomato, capsicum and cucumber under Kashmir valley conditions.  Asian Journal of Science and Technology ,  1 (4), 056-061 . Bharathi PVL, Ravishankar M. 2018. Vegetable nursery and tomato seedling management guide for south and central India. WorldVeg Publication No. 18-829. World Vegetable Center, Taiwan. 30 p. Sahu , B., Dalai, S., & Mallikarjunarao , K. Cultivation of Off-season Vegetables under Protected Conditions.