Horticultural Growing Media and Plant Nutrition (a)

End of Project ReportThis publication reports on four different studies under the overall title: (1)The effect of type and rate of controlled release fertiliser on the performance of hardy nursery stock in containers; (2) Analysis of substrates containing controlled release fertilisers; (3)The effect of water quality and rate of lime on the growth of nursery stock plants in peat; (4)Effect of suSCon Green on the growth of nursery stock plantsEuropean Union Structural Funds (EAGGF

Care of Nursery Stock in Retail Outlets

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Predicting field performance of five irrigated tree species using seedling quality assessment in Burkina Faso, West Africa

Five exotic tree species (Acacia angustissima (Mil.) Kuntze, Acacia mangium Wild, Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Alp., Leucaena hybrid (LxL), and Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit) were investigated to determine whether parameters of nursery seedling stock quality could be used to predict their field performance in a plantation irrigated with treated waste-water to produce fodder and wood. Plants were grown in the nursery in two contrasting rooting substrates (ordinary nursery soil and sand), predicted to have different effects on resource allocation. Three categories of morphological indicators were measured, i.e. plant dimensions (height, diameter, root length), plant weights (shoot, root and whole plant weights) and indices (sturdiness quotient ‘SQ’, shoot:root dry weight ratio ‘SRR’ and Dickson’s quality index ‘DQI’). In the nursery, all species performed better in the ordinary nursery soil for all growth parameters except root length. Thus ordinary nursery substrate appeared superior to sand in terms of plant quality. However, a follow up at plantation phase revealed that only some morphological attributes or ratios were suitable to predict field performance for the five tested species in irrigated plantation. In addition, the effect of the substrate observed at the nursery stage had disappeared 12 months after out planting due to the availability of water and nutrients provided by the treated waste water used for the irrigation. The results showed that root collar diameter and DQI appeared to be the most appropriate indicators to predict the outplanting performance of the five tested species in a short-rotation irrigated plantation in semi-arid Burkina Faso. The former measure is simpler and non-destructive

The operational effectiveness of the forest nursery sector in Leyte, The Philippines

Current programs and policies on forest management in the Philippines are biased towards the promotion of small-scale forestry. However, the scaling-up of smallholder forestry is hampered by the limited availability of planting materials and the low quality of planting stock. A study of the operational effectiveness of the forest nursery sector in the province of Leyte reveals that the operation of the nursery industry is not well-organized. The support provided by assisting agencies failed to promote the sustainability of smallholder nurseries. While a decentralized nursery management is widely perceived as the best alternative for reaching smallholders with planting stock, transferring the seedling production to smallholder nurseries needs strong collaboration with and support from the government nursery group. It is imperative for the government nursery group to refine its production objectives, operation schemes, types of assistance extended to smallholders and the means of extending the support to make it attuned to the needs and constraints of the smallholder nursery group

Grouper culture in floating net cages

The manual describes the culture of groupers (Epinephelus) in floating cages, providing a farming option for grouper growers and also a production alternative to the farmed species being done today, such as shrimp, milkfish and tilapia. The following aspects are covered: species identification for commercially cultured groupers; source of stock; net cage specifications; anchor; hides and shelters; nursery net cage operation; production cages; harvesting; post-harvest; profitability analysis of grouper cage culture; and, cost and return of growing grouper in cages

Potential use of offshore marine structures in rebuilding an overfished rockfish species, bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis)

Although bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis) was an economically important rockfish species along the west coast of North America, overfishing has reduced the stock to about 7.4% of its former unfished population. In 2003, using a manned research submersible, we conducted fish surveys around eight oil and gas platforms off southern California as part of an assessment of the potential value of these structures as fish habitat. From these surveys, we estimated that there was a minimum of 430,000 juvenile bocaccio at these eight structures. We determined this number to be about 20% of the average number of juvenile bocaccio that survive annually for the geographic range of the species. When these juveniles become adults, they will contribute about one percent (0.8%) of the additional amount of fish needed to rebuild the Pacific Coast population. By comparison, juvenile bocaccio recruitment to nearshore natural nursery grounds, as determined through regional scuba surveys, was low in the same year. This research demonstrates that a relatively small amount of artificial nursery habitat may be quite valuable in rebuilding an overfished species

The modular method: Milkfish pond culture

The modular method of milkfish culture (Chanos chanos) described in the manual is an improvement over the traditional extensive method. The manual is intended for the use of fish farmers and aquaculturists, extensionists, and students of aquaculture not only in the Philippines, but also in other milkfish-producing countries in Southeast Asia and the world. It covers the following: Interesting facts about milkfish -- biological characteristics, artificial breeding of milkfish; Design and operation of modular pond system -- pond preparation, stocking in the nursery or transition ponds, stocking in the rearing ponds, care of stock, pond utilization and production schedule, harvest and post-harvest; and, Economics and costing

Optimising Nutrition Of Containerised Nursery Stock

End of Project ReportIrish peat, used as a growing medium in horticulture, tends to have a higher state of decomposition and a higher potential buffering capacity than some of the younger peats from Scandinavian or Baltic countries. Particularly where hard water, with high bicarbonate content, is used for irrigation this could be an important property in giving the peat greater stability with respect to pH levels throughout the cropping period. It may also influence the optimum rate of lime to be applied to adjust the pH prior to cropping. The effect of peat type on the performance of nursery stock plants, Azalea and Hebe in 2-litre containers, was studied when irrigated with both soft and hard water and with different rates of lime in the peat growing medium. When irrigated with hard water, the rate of pH increase was less with relatively decomposed Irish peat than with younger Baltic peats. Using Irish peat, a rate of dolomitic lime addition to the peat of 4 kg/m3 was best for Hebe when irrigated with soft water. Irrigating with hard water the lime rate could vary between 2 and 4 kg/m3 without affecting plant performance. With the Baltic peats, increasing the rate of lime addition above 2 kg/m3 tended to reduce growth of Hebe. Azalea gave better results when irrigated with soft water. In hard water areas therefore it is advisable, if possible, to collect rain water from a greenhouse roof for irrigation purposes. A zero rate of lime gave inferior results with Azalea. With hard water a rate of 1 kg/m3 was optimum. With soft water this could be increased to 2 kg/m3 without damage. New formulations of the controlled release fertiliser (CRF) have been introduced recently. An experiment was carried out to evaluate the CRFs available in Ireland for the production of containerised nursery stock over a 12 month period. The effect of rate of CRF was also studied. Experiments were also located in the Colleges of Horticulture in Warrenstown and Kildalton. All the CRFs in these experiments produced acceptable results in terms of plant performance. There were differences between the CRFs but these were not consistent between the experiments. The vigorous species Lonicera pileata and Escallonia macrantha responed positively to rates of CRF up to 8 kg/m3. The conifer, Thuja plicata gave no response to rates above 6 kg/m3. In an experiment over two seasons using 20 nursery stock species, a liquid feeding system resulted in heavier plants of most species than did one based on a controlled release fertiliser.European Union Structural Funds (EAGGF

Promoting high quality seedling production through LGU-based nursery accreditation: Opportunities and challenges

Low quality of planting stock is a widely recognized problem for establishing timber plantations and land rehabilitation in the Philippines, and nursery accreditation for adoption of best management seedling production has been identified as a critical step towards overcoming this problem. An LGU-based nursery accreditation and seedling certification system has been trialled in the Palompon Local Government Unit (LGU) in Leyte, with the support of the ACIAR seedling enhancement project and the Development Bank of the Philippines watershed rehabilitation project. This initiative has required community organizing, setting up an accreditation standard and protocol, on-site training, and establishing a nursery accreditation team. Further challenges are expected in implementation of the accreditation scheme, for example relating to financial management and resource mobilization in local nurseries, sourcing of high quality seeds and wildlings, and establishing market linkages for high quality planting stock

Root disturbance and washing effects on shoot and root growth in four plant species : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Science at Massey University

Bare-rooting techniques have been widely use in New Zealand nursery production for the preparation of live plants for export to overseas or domestic markets. Bare-root transplants can fail quality requirements due to death or deterioration of regrowth following repotting. The potential for improving bare-root nursery stock quality has prompted study of the morphological effects of removed medium treatment on plant. Two experiments were conducted to explore the effects of physical root disturbance by shaking and washing on the growth and development of camellia (Camellia x saluenensis cv. 'Donation'), pittosporum (Pittosporum tenuifolium cv. 'Kohuhu'), pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo cv. 'Crown Hybrid'), and coleus (Coleus blumei). The shaken plants in both dry and wet conditions suffered a reduction in the growth rate of their leaves compared to the unshaken controls. Root washing influenced the vegetative growth of four species and reproductive growth of pumpkin. The two woody species were more sensitive to treatment stress. Very short time of washing (three seconds) affected camellia bud break and new shoot growth, and inhibit pittosporum root and shoot growth. Similar effects were not sosevered in coleus and pumpkin