5. Nursery development and practice

Developing a nursery is necessary under several conditions:

o When no nursery is within easy traveling distance;

o When there are no outside sources of seedlings; and

o When the species cannot be directly sown.

Travel time is an important consideration in determining the need for a nursery. If it is necessary to travel several hours from the nearest nursery to the planting site, the excessive travel time may result in death or poor growth of the seedling due to lack of moisture and shock. If there are no government programs or commercial nurseries to supply the desired quantity or species, it may be advantageous to establish a large nursery that supplies products region wide. In some cases, it is necessary to start a nursery because the species chosen requires special care prior to transplanting to the field.

The type of nursery is determined by the scope of the project. If the objective is to provide seedlings on an ongoing basis for various projects, or individual home plantings, it is necessary to develop a large, centrally located facility with a wide variety of plants. This type of nursery should be self-sustaining, or maintained by government funds. If the objective of the project is to provide trees for one small individual project, a temporary facility should be developed. As the project concludes, the site can be used for another purpose. Whenever possible, local materials, labor, and other resources and appropriate technologies should be used. The amount of land to be used depends on the size of the project, its goals, and the availability of land in general.

For more information on nursery development and practice, see Fillion and Weeks, 1984; ICE Manual FC06; Evans, 1982; Elliott and James, 1982; FAO, 1977; Jordan and Farnworth, 1982; and Wadsworth and Mergen, 1980.