Introduction 

• Planting materials are either planted directly in a seedbed or indirectly through a nursery bed. 

• A seedbed is a piece of land which could be small or large and prepared to receive planting materials. 

• A nursery bed on the other hand is a small plot of land specially prepared for raising seedlings or planting materials before transplanting. 

• It is usually 1m wide and any convenient length depending on the quantity of seedlings to be raised. 

• A seedling bed is a special type of nursery bed used for raising seedlings pricked out from the nursery bed due to overcrowding before they are ready for transplanting. 

• Pricking out refers to the removal of seedlings from a nursery bed to a seedling bed. 

• Nursery practices refer to all the activities carried out throughout a nursery life to raise seedlings. . 

Importance of Nursery Bed in Crop Production 

• To facilitate the production of many seedlings in a small area. 

• It is easy to carry out management practices in a nursery than in the seedbed. 

• It facilitates the planting of small seeds which develop into strong seedlings that are easily transplanted. 

• It ensures transplanting of only healthy and vigorous growing seedlings. 

• It reduces the period taken by the crop in the field. 

• Excess seedlings from the nursery may be sold to earn income. 

Selection of a Nursery Site 

Factors to consider;

• Nearness to the water source. 

• Type of soil.-should be well drained, deep and fertile, preferably loam soil. 

• Topography.-it should be situated on a gentle slope to prevent flooding and erosion through surface run-off.

• Previous cropping.-to avoid build up of pests and diseases associated with particular plant families, consider the preceding crops.

• Security.-select a site that is protected from theft and destruction by animals. 

• Protection against strong winds and heat of the sun.-select a sheltered place. i.e. to avoid excessive evapotranspiration and uprooting seedlings. 

Types of Nurseries 

Categories of nurseries: 

• Vegetable Nursery: 

- They are used for raising the seedlings of vegetable crops. 

- Tomatoes, cabbages, kale, onions, brinjals and peppers. 

• Vegetable Propagation Nurseries: 

- They are used for inducing root production in cuttings before they are transplanted, 

- The cuttings can be planted directly in the soil and hence called bare root nurseries.

- Or planted into containers such as pots, polythene bags and others, hence called containerized nurseries. 

• Tree Nurseries: 

- These are used for raising tree seedlings. 

- The seedlings can be raised in bare root nurseries or in containerized nurseries. 

Nursery Management Practices: 

• These are the practices carried out in the nursery while the planting materials are growing. 

They include: 

• Mulching. –light mulch should be applied on thenursery bed.It be  should be removed on the 4th day 

• Weed control. 

• Shading. 

• Pricking out. 

• Pests and disease control. 

• Hardening off 

• Watering.

Preparation of vegetative materials for planting: 

• Cuttings -These are plant parts such as stems, leaves and roots induced to           produce roots and used as planting materials. 

• Grafting – 

- It is the practice of uniting two separate woody stems. 

- The part bearing the roots is referred to as root stock while the part which is grafted onto the rootstock is known as scion. 

- The scion has buds which develop into the future plant. 

- The ability of the rootstock and the scion to form a successful union is termed as compatibility. 

Methods of Grafting 

• Whip or tongue grafting: 

- In this case the diameter of the rootstock and the scion are the same. 

- It is carried out when the diameter of the scion and the rootstock is 'pencil' thick. 

• Side grafting: In this case the diameter of the rootstock is bigger than that 

                              of  the scion. 

Other types of grafting include ;

• Approach grafting, 

• Notch grafting 

• Bark grafting. 

Budding:

• It is the practice of uniting a vegetative bud to a seedling of another plant. 

• The scion has only one bud and some bark with or without wood. 

• The bud is inserted in a slit made on the bark of the stock. 

• It is held tightly on the stock by tying with a budding tape until it produces a shoot. 

Methods of Budding: 

• T-budding 

• Top budding 

• Patch budding. 

Importance of Budding and Grafting: 

• Plants with desirable  root characteristics but with undesirable products may be used to produce desirable products for example lemon-orange graft. 

• They facilitate the changing of the top of the tree from being undesirable to desirable 

• They make it possible to grow more than one type of fruit or flower on the same plant. 

• They help to propagate clones that cannot be propagated in any other way.

• They help to shorten the maturity period. 

Layering 

• It is the process by which a part of a plant is induced to produce roots while still attached to the mother plant. 

• Once the roots have been produced, the stem is then cut off and planted. 

Types of layering; 

• Marcotting or aerial layering. 

• Tip layering. 

• Trench layering. 

• Compound or serpentine.

Tissue Culture for Crop Propagation 

• Tissue culture is a biotechnology used in cloning vegetatively propagated plants. 

• It is based on the ability of plant tissue (or cells) to regenerate other parts of the plant. 

• The tissues are derived from shoot tips where cells are undergoing rapid cell division and are not differentiated. 

• The cells are then provided with the right conditions which enable them to multiply and develop roots. 

    The Right Conditions  for tissue culture: 

• Culture medium. 

• Correct temperature. 

• Correct light intensity and 

• Correct relative humidity. 

Importance of Tissue Culture in Crop Propagation 

• It is used to recover and establish pathogen-free plants especially in the control of viral diseases. 

• It is used in mass production of plantlets or propagules. 

• It is fast and requires less space than the cultural methods of using cutting which requires a bigger space. 

Transplanting Seedlings 

• Transplanting of vegetable and tree seedlings are generally the same. 

• Generally, vegetable seedlings are ready for transplanting when they are one month old or have 4 -6 leaves or are about 10-15cm in height. 

• Before transplanting, the nursery bed is adequately watered 3 - 4 hours before lifting the seedlings. 

• This ensures the seedlings are lifted easily with a ball of earth around the roots to minimize root damage. 

• Tree seedlings take a little longer to reach transplanting age compared to vegetable crop seedlings. 

• The roots are trimmed before lifting the seedlings. 

• Transplanting should be done at the onset of the long rains to give the young trees a good start. 

• After transplanting the young trees should be protected from damage by animals for a period of about one year.