Not all pesticides and fungicides are equal. They come in a variety of formulations and the seedling grower must know when and where to use them for optimal results. Although seedlings grow for a limited time in a nursery, pest and disease management is crucial to healthy seedlings and plants. If considerable effort has been [...]
Seed treatments are useful for many vegetable crops for the prevention of damping-off and some other root diseases, as well as eliminating certain diseases carried on the seed itself. Seed treatment is not recommended for the inexperienced to used this type of method. It is easier to ask the seed supplier if the seed has been [...]
A clean nursery is the first vital step towards producing a healthy crop and forms part of a good seedling disease management program. Not only must the seed be disease free, but the environment in which the seedling will germinate and grow for 4-6 weeks, should also be free of diseases. The first step in [...]
Seedlings must be irrigated and fertigated with micro sprinklers which are linked to a timer. A simple swimming pool timer will suffice. In arid conditions the seedlings should be irrigated as listed in the table below. Fertilizers should only be applied in the second and third week of growth. Most seedlings should be ready for [...]
Plants must be acclimatized to the shock and stress of transplanting into the greenhouse by slowly removing the optimum growing conditions of the nursery. This is accomplished by a process known as “hardening-off”. To harden off seedlings, commercial growers reduce irrigation frequency lower temperatures and stop applying any fertilizers to the seedlings. Care must be taken to [...]
Most vegetable seedlings are sown in commercial seedlings trays. These trays are made of either polystyrene or hard plastic. The numbers of plugs per tray vary from 50 to 300 depending on plant characteristic. The most common tray used is the 200 plug tray made from polystyrene. The trays are 30 cm wide, 70 cm [...]
Seedling growth medium fall into two categories. Those used for commercial seedling trays and mixtures used for propagating seedlings directly in the soil. Commercial seedling growth medium mixtures are relatively expensive if small amounts of seedlings are to be produced. They are also most suited for seed trays. These mixtures are of the types A, [...]
Seedlings must be protected from extreme temperatures. Climates that vary from very cold to very hot and also from very dry to waterlogged conditions are detrimental to seedling production. The table below provides a quick summary of the effect of extreme temperature conditions on seedling production. Any stress a seedling undergoes will have a cumulative [...]
A simple layout of a nursery using raised seedbeds on which the common 200 plug seed tray will fit can be seen below. Each of these seed trays, made from polystyrene, is approximately 700 mm by 300 mm. The width of the stands should be at least 1400 mm if the seed trays are to [...]
