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THE FOREST NURSERY:THE FOREST NURSERY:ITS CHARACTER AND OPERATIONSITS CHARACTER AND OPERATIONS

Ralph D. NylandDistinguished Service Professor - Silviculture

with contributed materials by

Timothy A. VolkSenior Research Associate

Department of Forest and Natural Resources ManagementSUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Syracuse, NY 13210

Fall 2010

Many slides compliments of NYS Department ofEnvironmental Conservation, Saratoga Tree Nursery

Others by T. Landis, US For. Serv

Background reading:

Chapter 7, in Nyland, R.D. 2002. Silviculture: Concepts and Applications. Waveland Press. Long Grove, IL. 2ed.

Other important source:

Landis, T. 2006 Introduction to forest nursery management. U.S. For. Serv. In Forestry Images: Forest Health Natural Resources, and Silvicultural Images. http://www.forestryimages.com

Unless noted, images provided by R. Evans, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Saratoga Tree Nursery

Others by T. Landis, US For. Serv (Marked UGA)

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A modern tree nursery in North America can look like this …

… and one elsewhere like this

Photos by Volk

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All follow similar basic steps to produce usable planting stock ….

Photo by Volk

The Saratoga Nursery … … note the key features

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… organized into sections and beds … and with windbreaks and access roads

Photo by Nyland

Nursery production …

… a specialized even-aged silvicultural system

… consider what it entails

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The rotation begins with soil preparation and amendment …

… organic material added to the sandy soil

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… after first composting the organic stuff

… in former times usingbarn sweepings thatcontained a limingagent …

… the white specksPhoto by Nyland

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… increasing pH to anunsuitably high level

… so watch whatyou add, and theamount

… now substitutingmaterial of a different kind

Photo by Nyland

Cover crops provide a useful alternative or supplement …… and protect fallow beds from wind erosion and invasive weeds

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… plowed under as a first step in seedbed preparation

… to create a suitable

seedbed

… and control

interfering vegetation

Then tilling follows tocultivate the soil …

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… often in a way that raises the bed and lightly rolls the surface

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… even applying fertilizer, a mycelialinoculum, or otherwise amending the soil

Photo by Volk

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… followed by sowing (drilling) at the appropriate time of year

… dropping seeds to the beds at proper spacing between and within rows… and pressing the seeds into the soil to slightly cover them

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… then applying a thin mulch to prevent wind erosion and desiccationPhoto by Nyland

... leaving the beds with drilled rows and a mulched surface

Photo by Nyland

DRILLEDROW

Photo by Nyland

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… then the first signsof germination comein springPhoto by Nyland

… first the radical emerges

… then the top rises fromthe soil

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…initially with the seed coat still in place

… eventually pushed off as the needles develop and grow

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… seedlings remain especially vulnerable during the early days… e.g., to damping off like this, and moisture stress

… and even later during the rotation… such as against frost heaving of 1-year seedlings during the winter

Photo by Nyland

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… that pushes them out of the ground if the soil repeatedly freezes and thawsPhoto by Nyland

… so nursery managers commonly add mulch to the beds of 1-year seedlings

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…using common devices like these to spread the mulch evenly

… but tall seedlings remain vulnerable to winter desiccation… particularly during years with little persistent snow cover

Photo by Nyland

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… as with these Japanese black pinePhoto by Nyland

… nurseries add irrigation systems to reduce risks of growing season desiccation

Throughout aseedling rotation …

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… and regularly monitor soil moisture to keep it at desirable levelsthroughout the growing season

… to reduce moisture and heat stress… or even to prevent damage from freezing

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… also periodically controlling interfering weeds by herbicide applications

… and some hand weeding as well

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… even in the space between the seedbeds to reduce weed seed supply

… often doing root pruning or root wrenching tomodify the root system

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… each year the manager also makes an inventory to keep track of the stock

… noting the numbers, sizes, and condition of seedlings in the beds

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… and at the end of a rotation, they lift the DORMANT seedlings … for temporary storage or shipment to a planting site

Photo by Nyland

… looking for short white root tips as a sign of dormancy

Photo by Nyland

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… usually becoming dormantafter an extended periodof low soil temperature

… e.g., < 40-50 oFPhoto by Nyland

… and lifted ONLYwhen dormant

… after fall dormancy verified, or before spring growth starts

Photo by Nyland

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… in this nursery, lifting starts with additional root pruning between the rows

… then lifting by machine using a modified potato digger

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… like this onePhoto by Nyland

… that raises the seedbed

… and shakes off the soil

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… and conveys the seedlings into a storage crate

Photo by Nyland

… typical seedlings like this (inverted)… with a good balance between top and roots

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… protecting the stock in palletized boxes with shade covers

… like this

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… and transported from the field

… mechanically handled for efficiencyPhoto by Nyland

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… and moved into a pre-chilled storage roomPhoto by Nyland

… kept at an appropriatetemperature to maintaindormancy and preventmolds from developing

Photo by Nyland

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Photo by NylandPhoto by Nyland

… then removed from storage for packaging before shipping

Photo by Nyland

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… brought into the packing shed

… unloaded from the storage boxes

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… sorted, graded, and counted

… laid out in groups of 50

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… then bound together with elastic bands

… and grouped into packages of 500 seedlings

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… in vapor-barrier bags

… with a label to show species,seed source, and tree count

Photo by Nyland

…using the bags to protectthe seedlings and guardagainst desiccation anddamage

Photo by Nyland

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… so that when opened at the planting site the seedlings look like this

Photo by Nyland

… good color, no damage,not desiccated, no mold

Photo by NylandPhoto by Nyland

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… kept that way by proper storage after packaging

… kept cool and moist

… like these jelly-rollbundles (bales)

Photo by Nyland

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… until loading for transport to a planting site

… best done in covered and even refrigerated trucks or trailers… kept cool at the field site to protect the seedlings until planted

Source unknown

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… those good quality seedlings have dark color with firm and unopened buds… and roots that have not begun to elongate

Photo by Nyland

… and a better balancebetween tops and rootsthan with this seedling

Photo by Nyland

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… even better balancedthan this

Photo by Nyland

… more like this

50/50balance

Photo by Nyland

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… with dormant, dense, and fibrous root systems

Photo by Nyland

… so demand seedlings equivalent to only the best of this lot

Photo by Nyland* * * * *

*** *

* -- best for planting

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Consider another approach to seedling production …

... container-grown seedlingsPhoto by Volk

Produced in greenhouses …

… or in open-sided sheds

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… using various types of containers

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… and grown in a specially prepared soil

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… filled and sown by hand

or by machine

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Under-bench ventilation can stimulate growth by warming the roots and reducingdiseases of the foliage …

… and irrigated as needed

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… taking only several weeks to get usable planting stock

… like this

J.D. Irving Ltd.

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… eventually moved to the open to adjust to local climate

… even kept there under “modified” conditions to regulate the conditioning

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Now consider methods for producing rooted cuttings in a nursery …

Photo by Volk

Photo by Nyland

It begins by harvesting dormant shoots from plantings designed for that purpose ..

Photos by Volk

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Photos by Volk

Photo by Volk

Properly stored to maintaindormancy and prevent desiccation …

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Photo by Nyland

Dormant cuttings dibbled in during spring (with the buds pointed UP) …

Photo by Nyland

… filling the beds much like regular nursery stockPhoto by Nyland

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Buds flush and roots develop in a couple of weeks …

Photo by Volk

Photo by Nyland

Photo by Nyland

… grown for 1 year in the nursery bedsPhoto by Nyland

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… to form a root stockwith a top, commonlycut back to < 12-18”tall before lifting

… and lifted and shippedin that form when dormantPhoto by Nyland

… all headed out to establish a new tree stand

And whether bare-rooted,container stock, or from cuttings …

Source unknown

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…with good quality stock enhancing seedling survival and early development

Photo by Nyland

… leading to long-termplantation success

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After Nissen 2010

In fact …