To achieve maximum efficiency within a potting operation, and to minimise production bottlenecks, the ‘work-flow’ process from potting to plant placement must be efficient. The following video highlights the areas that could be considered when making improvements to the overall productivity of the plant setting out operation.
Weeds or pest plants can have serious economic, environmental, and social impacts. Weeds reduce crop growth, compete for nutrients water and light, harbour insect pests and pathogens, damage the aesthetics of the plant, reduce the ability to apply crop amendments, and can be one of the most significant input costs to production.
In this podcast Josh Waterworth from Waterworth’s Nursery, situated near Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast talks about the history of Waterworth’s Nursery, their journey with upgrading their irrigation system and propagation facilities, their latest developments and future plans, particularly around water use efficiency.
Efficient irrigation systems deliver real economic benefits to a nursery. The aim of any design is to apply enough water evenly to meet all plant needs in the time available. This webinar details the requirements for designing a nursery irrigation system to provide even water application, save money in capital and running costs, save water, and meet the management constraints necessary to run the nursery
In this webinar you’ll learn about: plant water use, the link between nutrient and water management, how plant water use varies in different nursery environments, how water is held in growing media, how to schedule irrigation systems to match plant water use, how to measure plant water use, how to measure leachate volumes.
Knowing the pH and Electrical Conductivity or EC of your irrigation and drainage water can help you to grow better and more consistent crops. Testing procedures aren't difficult and can be done at minimal cost. This video shows a process for carrying out a practical on-site pH and electrical
The selection of an appropriate sprinkler is a crucial part of having an irrigation system that operates to Nursery Industry Best Management Practice. The following video explains considerations that need to be taken into account when selecting an appropriate sprinkler for an overhead irrigation system.
The potting operation is a major component of most production nursery operations. Increasing the overall efficiency of the potting process, can free up resources for use in other parts of the business, and improve plant quality. The following video describes the different potting methods used in the nursery industry.
Improving the scheduling of an efficient irrigation system provides the best opportunity to achieve savings in total water use without adversely affecting plant growth. Historically growers have selected run times for an irrigation zone or block using their experience. The Portable Weight Based Scheduling Tool has been developed to enable the changes in water content occurring within a container to be seen by recording the weight of the container. This information can then be presented in a form where the changes in moisture in the growing media can be displayed on a graph.
The NGIQ YouTube channel contains videos on a wide range of topics related to nursery production.
This video describes how using a biological water clarifier was used to improve water quality in a nursery water storage. The storage contained increasing levels of algae, plankton and surface floating weeds, leading to costly management and maintenance activities, crop production issues and an unpleasant odour. Ten weeks into the treatment, the water turbidity had significantly improved, algal blooms had disappeared, and the previous unpleasant odour was no longer evident.
The effective management of water quality in storages needs to be flexible, and quickly react to changes in water quality. This video explains strategies that can employed in managing water quality in water storages.
The best time to prepare for a drought is before the event. In this workshop presentation we’ll give you information on some of the things you should consider when managing droughts that are affecting your business. Kerry Battersby Nursery & Garden Industry Queensland (NGIQ) - Drought risk management - 00:01:45. Erik Schmidt Center for Agricultural Engineering (CAE) – Evaporation mitigation - 00:27:10. Ben Walsh - BioRemedy – Managing water quality in water storages - 01:08:40.
The management of irrigation in a production nursery directly affects plant growth and profitability. Excessive irrigation can waste water, energy and labour, can leach nutrients, and reduce growing media aeration. Insufficient irrigation can stress the crop, affecting plant quality and reducing crop uniformity. Irrigation scheduling refers to how long, how often and when an irrigation system is operated to replenish the amount of water lost from a container since the last irrigation event.
Improving water use efficiency in a production nursery begins with having a clear understanding of the infrastructure and practices currently in place. Irrigation, Drainage and Energy Management Plans, or IDEMP's, describe the infrastructure and management practices in operation at a business, and outlines opportunities, suggestions and designs for on-farm improvements, to ensure the business remains profitable and sustainable into the future.