PPDL Picture of the Week
October 12, 2015
An Ounce of Prevention in Nursery Production
Kyle Daniel, Department of Horticulture and Landscape
Architecture, Purdue University
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That old adage is especially true when
growing high quality ornamental plants.
Whether utilizing preemergence herbicides as the primary form of weed
control or sanitizing equipment, preventing or eliminating a ‘problem’ before
it becomes a problem is usually much easier and cheaper than a curative
action. This line of thought should be
used throughout a nursery for various aspects of the production cycle. A few examples of prevention include:
·
only buying disease free liners
·
obtain high quality media that isn’t stored on
soil
·
sanitize machinery that comes in contact with
media or plants
·
removing old media and pots from production
areas
·
discard plant material after pruning
·
many others
These pictures were taken at a nursery that grows
containerized plants. The concrete bins
hold the media utilized in production and there is a slope to prevent water
from draining into the bins from other parts of the nursery and doesn’t allow
water to pool, which aids in the prevention of disease transmission. This nursery disposes spent media in a
location away from the new media in the bins.
The potting shed is located near the bins so that travel time is
minimal.