Describe the advantage and disadvantage of using polythene container in nursery stock
Answers
Explanation:
Sri Lanka's plantation estates have a mixed history of enthusiastic efforts towards management of forest trees on their lands. Eucalypts were first introduced to estates over 100 years ago in the later part of the 19th Century by tea planters who had links to Australia. Since then, they have proved to be some of the country's fastest growing multi-purpose trees and are now of major socio-economic importance. A number of estate tree nurseries have adopted the simple and essential technique of composting to improve plant nutrition and techniques of hardening-off seedlings prior to field planting. However, in most nurseries, seedlings are still raised in black plastic bags, and optimum root development has yet to be recognised as a critical factor in seedling quality. It is generally considered that as long as seedlings look green as a result of regular watering, they are of good quality for field planting. In addition, some seedlings overstay in the nursery and outgrow their containers to the point that they cannot establish well and grow vigorously once out-planted. It is therefore clear that a better understanding of seedling quality is desirable as this will assist adoption of improved propagation practices. This manual was inspired by the need to improve the delivery of advisory services to estate nurseries, and to promote procedures and activities which ought to be routine in them. Sri Lanka's tropical climate, with variable rainfall, makes it imperative that seedlings should have the best possible chance to survive and grow well after out-planting.