Irrigation regimes in a bare-root nursery

"Irrigation is an important nursery management tool for modifying the seedling environment and influencing seedling behavior" (Cleary et al. 1978). Adequate irrigation is essential to maintain sufficient water in plants. Soil moisture supply and atmospheric demand play important roles in limiting the water supply available to the plants. The basic purpose of irrigation is to uniformly distribute water with a minimum of waste, while producing a succcessful, economical crop. I believe that in the past, and to some extent even now, some nursery managers used more irrigation than was needed to produce stock. Too much water can produce stock that is morphologically and physiologically unable to survive early fall frosts in the nursery. They will also be unable to maintain vigor during refrigerated storage periods and may not survive and grow on droughty planting sites similar to the steep, shallow, soiled slopes that face south and west in southern Oregon. The application of too little water produces its own problems. Seedlings can be droughted-stressed in the nursery to a point where the shoot and root mass is reduced and/or the plant is damaged or killed.

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Author(s): Frank E. Morby

Publication: National Nursery Proceedings - 1981

Event: Proceedings of the 1981 Intermountain Nurserymen's Association meeting
1981 - Edmonton, Alberta