Introductory Agroforestry (1+1)

DEFINITIONS, IMPORTANCE AND OBJECTIVES

DEFINITIONS

• Nursery is defined as an area where plants are raised for eventual planting out.
• Nursery composition: It comprises of nursery beds, paths, irrigation channels, etc.
• Nursery bed is defined as a prepared area in a nursery where seeds are sown, or into which transplants or cuttings are put. On the basis of the kind of plants growing in them, nursery beds are classified into Seedling Beds and Transplant Beds.
• A nursery which has only seedlings beds, i.e. in which only seedlings are raised, and no transplanting being done, is called Seedling Nursery.
• Transplant beds are those nursery beds in which seedlings raised in seedling beds are transplanted before planting out in the field. A nursery which has only transplant beds, i.e. in which seedlings are transplanted in preparation for forest planting is called Transplant Nursery.
• In India, separate seedling and transplant nurseries are seldom made; in the same nursery, some beds are seedling beds and others as transplant beds. Generally, whatever is grown in a nursery for planting out is called Nursery Stock. This term is also used for plants supplied from a nursery.

IMPORTANCE AND OBJECTIVES
Nursery occupies an important place in artificial regeneration/plantation technique. The increase in artificial regeneration works in general and the efforts to raise fast-growing, short rotation crops involving introduction of exotics in particular, have further increased its importance. The following objectives for which nursery is generally made, clearly bring out its importance:

1. Some important species do not seed every year. Plantations of these species can be raised annually only by collecting all available seeds in years of moderate and good seed years and sowing it in nursery to raise seedlings to be planted out in various years.
2. Some species grow very slowly and if the seed of these species is sown directly in plantation area, the seedlings are most likely to be swamped by weeds and killed. Therefore, slow-growing species are generally raised in nursery and planted out only when the seedlings are not liable to be damaged by weeds.
3. Success of roadside avenue plantations depends largely on planting tall and sturdy plants which can be obtained from a nursery.
4. Plantations of some species when raised by direct sowing are not as successful as when raised by planting.
   
5. The best method of introduction of exotics, viz. tropical pines, poplars, eucalyptus, etc.
   
6. Planting of nursery grown plants is the surest method of artificially regenerating poor and barren sites.
7. Casualties in plantations have to be replaced either in the year of plantation or in the next year. Sowings done in the gaps are liable to be unsuccessful as a result of suppression from weeds and can not catch up the plants from original sowing. Therefore, replacement of casualties is always done by planting nursery-grown plants or stumps and so nursery is very essential for casualties’ replacements.