Nursery raising

SELECTION OF SITE PLANTS

 Topography of the land: The topography of land should be plain as far as possible, if undulated, may be leveled if in terrains, and may be divided into terraces as large as possible.

Soil: Loam and sandy loam soil with humus are best suited soil, so that ball of earth should not break while transplanting and plant may not die. PH of soil should range between 6.5 to 7.5. The land can be improved to desired extent, to suit agricultural/nursery operations by adopting various scientific techniques & method.

Water: It is difficult to improve the quality of water, i.e. Tube well or well water and therefore, source of water and its suitability for plants is paramount. Unsuitable water is the main cause of failure of a nursery. Water should not contain total soluble salts in excess of 1400 ppm (approx. 2 million mhos/cm). It is desirable to get the water tested from some reputed, reliable source before selection of site for nursery.

Drainage: Proper drainage is very essential. Water should not stagnate overnight in any case. Ensure that extra water of nursery area is flushed out immediately and water from surrounding areas should not enter the nursery area.

Surroundings: Nursery should be away from brick kilns, smoke emitting industries and other environmental hazards but easily approachable by road or rail.

Market: It includes buying & selling both. One must ensure an outlet before starting a nursery and the produce in the nearby areas. Marketing at faraway distances will snatch away profits, due to high Transportation cost involved, besides damage to the plants and other losses, in transit.

Labor: Infect nursery profession is highly scientific, require green finger craft man ship skill, therefore it is necessary to apply judicious mind while selecting the labor for nursery operations, wages & perks should not only be the criteria.

LAYOUT OF NURSERY

Road and paths: Each and every corner of the nursery should be well connected with a road or path.  Roads should be wide enough, minimum 10 ft. wide to ply trucks, tractors, bullock driven bogies, etc. paths made of cement concrete or Agra stone should be provided in all the section connecting with roads. Paths should be wide enough, minimum 2 m wide to ply the wheel barrows, hand carts, small hand tractor, and trolleys and for leisure walks of the customers who come for making purchases.

Sections/Sectors: The area of the nursery should be divided into different sections/ sectors/ portions like timber section, rose section, annual flower section, indoor plant section, vegetable section, fruit plant section and main sections may further be divided in to sub section like ornamental and flowering tree’s section, creeper section, shrub’s section, bougainvillea section, succulents and cactus section and so on. This type of division will facilitate better supervision, specialization of staff and better accounting besides high impression on the mind of customer, nursery being run by qualified person on scientific lines.

Irrigation: Besides sweet water, the irrigation system in nursery count much, irrigation channels should be matelic to minimize wastage of water. Tube well should be bored at the highest level to enable the water to reach at all the portions of nursery by natural flow; there should be grid of pipe lines and hydrants to get equal pressure of water at all the parts of nursery. In potted areas, automatic /manual sprinkler system or drip irrigation system is suggested.

Office: cum sale counter, stores and parking - Proper office of the manager and staff with proper seating arrangement, sale counter attached with modern seed store, chemical room, fertilizer room etc. should be located at the main entrance of the nursery with a spacious, well protected, shady parking lot. This area should be beautifully landscaped and there should be an area for displaying sample plant material put for sale, at the entrance.