FOREST

NUSERIES AND
PLANTATION

For. Jairyl B. Oclarit MS (Candidate)

Visayas State University
Visca, Baybay City, Leyte
OUTLINE

• Kinds of Nursery
• Technical Considerations About a Nursery
• Forest Nursery Design and Establishment
• Major Activities in a Nursery
1. Forest Seeds Collection
2. Forest Seeds Germination
3. Potting and Transplanting
4. Vegetative Propagation
5. Wildling Collection
 Silviculture
Management

Silviculture the practice of controlling the growth,

composition, health, and quality of forests to meet
diverse needs and values. The name comes from the
Latin silvi- (forest) + culture (as in growing).
Management is a set of principles relating to the
functions of planning, organizing, directing and
controlling, and the application of these principles in
harnessing physical, financial, human and informational
resources efficiently and effectively to achieve
organizational goals.
VS
Two Types of Nursery
according to Time Duration

1. Permanent Nursery
2. Temporary Nursery
Permanent Forest
Nurseries

Permanent forest nurseries, are intended for long-term use,

are independent enterprises. Moreover, it is meant to serve
for a long period of time. In this case, seedlings are raised
from year to year.
Temporary Forest
Nurseries

Temporary forest nurseries are created for one-

time or repeated (up to five years) growing of planting
stock. Usually part of
forestry farms and logging and timber distribution establi
shments, they occupy small areas and
are located near the site where a forest is to be planted.
Types of Nursery according to type
of Plants Produced

1. Fruit Plant Nurseries

2. Vegetable Nurseries
3. Flowers Plants Nurseries
4. Forest Nurseries
5. Miscellaneous Nurseries
Fruit Plant
Nurseries
Fruit plant Nurseries - In this nursery seedlings and grafts of
fruit crops are developed
Vegetable
Nurseries
In this nursery seedlings of cauliflower, cabbage, brinjal
and tomato are prepared
Flower plants
nurseries
The seedlings of flowering plants like gerbera, carnation,
petunia, salvia, rose, chrysanthemum, coleus, aster,
dianthus are developed in this nurseries
Miscellaneous
Nurseries
In such type of nurseries plants with great economic value,
rare and medicinal, herbal plants are propagated. In this
nursery plants like geranium, rose, calendula, and marigold
are propagated.
 Forest Nursery

(1) A production unit that grows planting stock (seedlings and

saplings) of forest trees and shrubs.
(2) An area or place where forest seedlings are grown. In
addition, nurseries are categorized as small (up to 3
ha), medium (3–20 ha), and large (more than 20 ha).

Source: Forest Nursery. (n.d.) The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition. (1970-
1979). Retrieved August 15 2019
from https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Forest+Nursery
Objective of Forest Nurseries

All nurseries primarily aim to produce sufficient quantities of

high quality planting stocks to satisfy the needs of seedling
users. Users include the nursery owners themselves,
individuals, community organizations, farmer groups,
government agencies, non-government organizations,
corporate or private customers.
Forest Nursery
Management
The Key Elements of Nursery
Management are;

1. The Place
2. The Plants
3. The People behind it
Factors to consider when deciding
on the type of nursery

1. The number of plants required

2. The period the demand is likely
to last
3. Availability of transport/market
Nursery Planning and
Management

Nursery Site Selection

The selection of an appropriate nursery site is the most
important decision affecting the efficient production of
good quality plants.
Technical factors which need to be
considered while setting a nursery:

i. Water Supply
In order to have the good irrigation facilities, it should be
situated near or slightly below the source of adequate water
supply. Reliable and adequate water supply is essential.
Water source should be near and at the higher level than
nursery site. Water should be available throughout the year.
ii. Availability of Suitable Soil

For raising seedlings in polythene bag (tube), soil of the

actual nursery itself is not important. There should be
suitable source of soil preferably forest topsoil and sand
within easy reach of the nursery. Clayey soils should not
be selected as their aeration and drainage is poor and they
are liable to crack during summer.
iii. Access

Nursery should be situated as centrally as possible with

reference to the area to be planted. It should preferably be
near residence area for close and regular supervision.
Nursery should be near to the plantation site to facilitate
easy transportation of seedlings and access road should be
usable at all seasons of year.
iv. Aspect

Slope with South aspect is much warmer and chosen for

hill nursery at high elevation while in low elevation north
facing slope is chosen.
v. Slope

The ideal slope is about 5 degree which is steep enough

to allow proper drainage. Complete flat land should be
avoided; it is likely to become water logged during
monsoon rains. Steeper slopes will have to be terraced
and very steep slopes should be avoided as it may be
difficult to make a nursery bed and path on each side to
allow access to the beds.
vi. Exposure to Frost, Strong Winds and Flooding

At high altitudes, sites which are particularly liable to

frost damage should be avoided. Sites exposed to
strong winds and with danger of flooding or landslides
should be avoided.
vii. Labour Availability

Labour should be available without difficulty preferably near

a village so that labourers need not walk much distance for
work.
viii. Availability of Land

There should be enough land to raise the number of

seedlings needed and if possible room for expansion.
Legal enquiries should be made about the legal
ownership of the land.
Forest Nursery
Establishment
1. Select a good site

An ideal location would be a place near the house (so that

the nursery is often and well taken care of), with good soil,
near a reliable source of water and where water does not
stagnate. Avoid placing the nursery or raising species in an
area where existing species of the same family have pest
and disease problems.
2. Clear the site

Remove stumps, roots, rhizomes and stones in the area.

Leaves and other non-wood debris can be separated and
made into compost.
3. Layout the beds
4. Build the nursery structure

Some vegetation surrounding the nursery can

provide shade but the following shade structures
can also be constructed:
VSU Nursery
Major Activities
Forest Seeds Collection
1. Forest Seeds Collection
2. Forest Seeds
Germination
3. Potting and Transplanting
4. Vegetative Propagation
5. Wildling Collection
 HOW TO SELECT GOOD MOTHER
TREES
Prior to seed collection, you will need to select and mark
good mother trees. These are the trees you will use as
sources of high quality seed. Here are the major
characteristics that determine a good mother tree:

• Healthy and free of diseases and insects

• Nearly mature
• Good producers of the desired product
• Growing in the midst of a healthy stand of the same
species
 Rule

“A tree's off-spring will usually

resemble its mother”
 Therefore
• If you want straight trunks, choose a straight-trunked
mother tree.
• For a multi-trunk fodder tree, select multi-trunk mother
trees.
• For trees which tolerate drought, or flooding, select good
looking mother trees from dry or flooded sites, etc.
 For Timber Trees
• Mother trees should be fast growing, very straight, and
have few and thin branches (Figure 1).

Figure 1. A good mother tree for timber.

 For Fodder
• Be fast growing
• Have many branches
• Have several trunks
• Grow new leaves quickly after fodder harvesting
 Remember
Trees which have leaves all year round produce more
fodder than those which lose their leaves part of the year.
The most important factors in selecting mother trees for
fodder are:
• Fast production of leaf matter and pods preferred by
local animals.
• Ability of the tree to recover after cutting (Figure 2).

Figure 2 A good mother tree for fodder.

 For Fruit Trees
• Collect seed from trees of local varieties producing good
quantities of tasty, healthy fruit of marketable size.
• Low branching trees may be preferable as mother trees.
It is easy to pick fruits from low branches.

Figure 3. A good mother tree for fruits.

How to Collect Seeds
 Collecting from Natural Seed Fall

This is the simplest way to collect seed. It does not require

skilled labour. Collection from natural seed fall is suitable
for trees with large fruits, pods, and seeds
e.g. Tectona, Gmelina and some Dipterocarps.
 Disadvantages:

• Some seeds may have fallen from the tree immaturely.

• There is greater potential for insect attack and fungal
infection.
• Seeds left on the ground for a long time often lose viability
or start germinating.
 Shaking the Tree

If natural seed fall is spread over a long period of time,

manual shaking of the tree is a useful method to get seeds
to fall to the ground at the same time. This makes their
collection easier. In some cases, however, fruits or pods
are strongly attached to the branches and will not drop off
easily, even when the tree is shaken.
 Pruning off seed bearing branches

When the seed is out of reach for hand picking various pole
implements may be used for pruning branches

• Select branches with a heavy load of good looking pods

• Carefully locate the ground sheets so that pods and
seeds will fall onto them from pruned branches
• If necessary, prune out “windows” so that seed bearing
branches are able to fall to the ground and not get
entangled in the tree as they fall
• Cut the branches
• Collect the pods
• Remove the seeds
Throwing a rope with weighted end to break
off a seed bearing branch
Forest Seed
Germination
 Seed Germination
The resumption of the growth of the
seed usually recognized by the
rapture of the seed coat and
appearance of the radicle or
hypocotyl.
Starts with imbibition, when
the seed takes in water from the
soil. This triggers root growth to
allow the seed to get more water.
 Kinds of Seeds
Orthodox Seeds

>seeds which will survive drying and/or freezing during

ex-situ conservation
>desiccation tolerant seeds
>long-lived
Recalcitrant Seeds

>(subsequently known as unorthodox seeds)

are seeds that do not survive drying and freezing during
ex-situ conservation and vice versa
>desiccation sensitive seeds
>Short-lived
 Terminology

Viability- the ability of the seeds to germinate

given to favourable condition.
Seed dormancy- rest time / period for seeds.

Longevity-length of time that the seeds are

still viable
 Treatment before germinating
Seeds with hard coats require some treatments for
faster and uniform germination. These include any of
the following:

>breaking of hard seed coats

>cold water soak
>hot water soak
>alternate hot and cold water soak
>dry heat treatment
>acid and other chemical treatments, such as soaking
in Sulfuric Acid

Source: DENR Green Book

 Other Treatments

Scarification in botany involves weakening, opening, or

otherwise altering the coat of a seed to encourage
germination. Scarification is often done mechanically,
thermally, and chemically. The seeds of many plant species are
often impervious to water and gases, thus preventing or
delaying germination
Nicking seeds is the process of opening the seed coat,
or seed "jacket", prior to planting them. This process
makes it easier for water to penetrate the seed coat, and
reach the seed germ inside.
Removal of the fleshy part of Molave (Vitex parviflora)
Floatation Method e.g Molave (Vitex parviflora)
Drying up of seeds e.g Molave (Vitex parviflora)
Preparation of Seed Boxes for the Molave (Vitex parviflora) seeds
Sterilizing the soil with hot water
Place it in the Germination Shed
Germinating Molave (Vitex parviflora) seeds
How many seedlings/seeds are needed to be planted in
1 ha land area assuming you have a 2 x 2 distance or
spacing.
Potting and Transplanting
 Medium in Seedling Production

1. Rice hull
2. sand and;
3. forest soil
 Plant Propagation
Plant propagation is the process which grows new plants
from a variety of sources: seeds, cuttings, and other plant
parts.
 Grafting

the act of placing a portion of one plant (bud or scion)

into or on a stem, root, or branch of another (stock) in
such a way that a union will be formed and the partners
will continue to grow.
 Marcotting

also known as air layering is a type of plant propagation that

involves rooting of part of a stem while it is still attached to
the parent plant. It is a type of vegetative plant propagation
During our activity on Plant Propagation
Wildling Collection
Damo nga Salamat 
CON T A C T I N F OR MA T I ON
V I S A YA S S T A T E UNI VERSI TY
V i s ca , B a yb a y C i t y, L e yt e
P h o ne : + 6 3 ( 5 3 ) 5 6 5 0 6 0 0