Introduction

1. Introduction Input management is important skill in horticultural nursery management results in to higher returns from the nursery business. Basic inputs used in a nursery are: • Soil/growth Media 2. Seeds 3. Light 4. Irrigation water 5.Skilled & unskilled labors 6.Temperature, Humidity 7.Gas exchange and 8. Electricity. Preferences of inputs vary with crop, climate and soil conditions.

2. Rooting Media: Growth medium is an important input for mass propagation of nursery plants. It should have appropriate physical and chemical properties which could promote better seed germination and root development. Desirable characters for nursery media: • Even in texture, • Free from living organisms and pathogens, • Firm enough to hold planting material properly. • Good aeration and water holding capacity. • Low cost , easy availability and storage.

3. Popular Growth/Rooting Media Soil Sand Sphagnum Moss Coco Peat Vermiculite Perlite

4. Seeds • Selection of Seed is critical management decisions in crop production. Cost of seed input is normally less than 5 to 10 percent of total production costs. Proper precautions and seed treatments with chemicals helps to increase crop yield. • Seeds are an important resource as they determine, • Quality and quantity of the yield. • Adaptation to environmental conditions. • Resistance to insect, pests and disease.

5. Irrigation Water Water is an important input in mass propagation of nursery plants. Nurseries are irrigated by various methods depending upon the availability and quality of water, Application systems of water and availability of electricity, etc. The different methods of irrigation used in a nursery are: 1. Micro-irrigation, 2. Overhead Irrigation, 3. Pulse irrigation and 4. Open flooding/furrow Irrigation

6. Quality of Irrigation Water: Availability of good quality water is very important for a nursery business. Sources of water include lakes, ponds, streams, wells, and municipal water supply. Lakes, ponds and streams are cheapest sources of water. Following criteria must be considered before selecting water source for nursery: • Reliability of Source: Duration, quality and quantity of water. • Level ofcontaminants and debris in water and • Environmental/ legal limitations for water use from the source.

7. Nutrients • Testing of soil for nutrient status is necessary to decide application of fertilizer doses to media. • Nutrient are applied through straight fertilizers or mixed fertilizers and in single dose or split doses or foliar spray @ 0.5 to 2 per cent. Fertilizer application before transplantation is avoided. • FYM, compost, vermi-compost, leaf mold, cakes are organic sources of nutrient. Primary nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are applied through chemical fertilizers which are required for plant root and shoot development.

8. Soil Characteristics for good nursery soil: • Fertile, well-drained with high water-holding capacity, high organic matter content (3-5%) and easy tillage. land with less than 5% slope without stones and hardpans in the root zone. • Soil for repotting of plants should be sandy-clay to clay-loam which will hold roots while uprooting the plants. While bare-rooted plants are planted in light-textured soils. • Desirable soil can be imported from outside places for container based plant production.

9. Labor /Manpower • Nursery is a labour intensive business which requires both skilled and unskilled laborers. Number of employees needed in the nursery will depend on size of nursery business. • Skilled labour are required for specialized activities such as budding, grafting, layering, propagation, poly house maintenance, marketing, training, pruning etc. • Unskilled labor is required for bag filling, sowing, bed preparation, tillage, weeding, spraying, and maintaining sanitation, etc.

10. Light • Light is critical for photosynthesis and healthy plant development. However, too much light causes canopy scorching and loss in quality and quantity of stock. • Partial shade can be useful to young nursery and ornamental indoor plants. Shade net houses are used for partial shades to seedlings. Shade net houses must be at least 2 m in height. • Higher density shade cloths and nets (60 to 80 per cent shade) are used for young seedlings while lower densities (30 to 40 per cent) are used for relatively older plants.

11. Temperature • Temperature for optimum plant development is 25–35° C. Air temperatures above 40°C and below 20° C retard the growth of plants. • Greenhouses and poly houses can maintain optimum temperatures for plant growth. Humidity can be increased by using foggers or temperature can be deduced by increasing ventilation. • Temperatures need to be carefully monitored and maintained in the recommended range during seed germination, rooting of cuttings and graft union formation.

12. Gas Exchange • Respiration occurs during rooting of cuttings, union of grafts and germination of seedlings. Proper gas exchange is important for good root development. Atmospheric air contains about 0.03% CO2 and 21% O2. • Plants perform better under higher CO2 concentrations up to 3% levels. CO2 level can be monitored in poly house. But CO2 levels can drop in enclosed poly houses which reduces growth and production. Therefore such poly houses must be ventilated to maintain CO2 concentration and exchange.

13. Electricity • Electricity is necessary in nurseries to operate water pumps, Spray pumps, irrigation systems, etc • Most of the instruments in a greenhouse like ventilators, heating cables, electrical balances and data loggers require electricity for their operations. • Nonconventional systems of electrification like solar, wind, biogas powered systems can also be used for operations, if electricity is not available in nursery.