Liquid organic manure The above silo filled with organic manure can also be used as a source of liquid organic manure. For this, a small piece of pipe (2.5 cm diameter) is fitted into the lower end of the silo. Water is introduced every day at the top end of the silo and trickles down through the decomposing organic mass, carrying with it all the material that has been rendered water-soluble. This water, coming out of the pipe at the base of the silo, can be used as liquid manure. Due to this treatment, the organic matter in the silo subsides at a fast rate and has to be topped up every day. Addition of green leaves to the silo gives better results than using dry agro-waste. The liquid organic manure can be applied even through a drip irrigation system.

Use of Water Absorbing Gels A number of substances having the ability to absorb water are commercially being offered as a supplement to the potting medium. They can absorb water equivalent to several hundred times their own weight without losing their gelling ability. This water is held with a relatively small force within the gel so that t he roots can easily remove and absorb it. By adding these gels to the potting medium, one can increase the water holding capacity of the potting medium without causing water logging. The main advantage of using these gels is to reduce the frequency of watering the pots.

Use of Light in Nurseries Several species of plants shed their leaves and go into dormancy soon after the end of monsoon. The shortening daytime duration acts as a stimulus for this phenomenon (which most probably evolved during the ice ages) as a mechanism to survive the winter. But, in the current era, this strategy is not needed by plants in the plains and in peninsular India. In fact, the clear blue sky and full sunshine during the winter months are conducive to high rates of photosynthesis, while the relatively cool winter nights reduce the rate of respiration, so that the net rate of photosynthesis is very high during the winter. Since fast growth of plants is always desirable, a nursery operator should not let the plants become dormant. This can be achieved by exposing the plants to long-day conditions by providing supplementary fluorescent light for a few hours every evening after sunset.

The response of plants to sunlight or shade can also be profitably used in other ways. Some plants, called shade tolerators, show reduced rate of growth under shade and a relatively faster rate of growth if they are exposed to direct sunlight. It is not necessary to keep the plants all the time in the requisite light or shade environment. Plants perform photosynthesis during the day and utilize the photosynthates for morpho-genesis during the night. It is the last signal received by the plants before the onset of darkness, which decides their mode of growth. The effect of exposure to sunlight can therefore be achieved by using a short, post-sunset exposure of the plants to light from fluorescent tubes. Similarly, the effect of shade produced by the canopy of a tall tree blocking photosynthetically active solar radiation can be stimulated by post-sunset exposure of the plants to light from an incandescent bulb, filtered through a layer of green leaves.

Root Trainers When plants are grown in plastic bags, their roots often get coiled at the base of the bag. Such plants show retarded growth after being transplanted into the soil. In some cases, the roots grow out of the bag and enter into the soil. Such plants fail to survive if their roots are broken while lifting the bags. Root trainers are conical containers, resembling ice cream cones, but which are open at both the ends. They are filled with soil and kept in special stands with the pointed en pointing downwards, but not touching the soil. When plants are grown in these containers, their roots grow downwards, but do not touch the soil. When the taproot comes out of the lower end, it gets exposed to air and the growing point of the root is killed due to desiccation. This phenomenon, also called air pruning, prevents the root both from coiling at the base of the container and also from entering into the soil. The air-pruned roots develop large number of lateral secondary roots. Such plants not only show good survival rate after transplanting but also show a faster rate of growth because the roots with their lateral branches have a larger absorbing surface.

System Design A Nodal Unit is established equipped to train rural women in all the techniques. Emphasis should be on hands-on practical training. The trainees should be provided a kit containing the essential items required to set up a nursery and encouraged to start nurseries on their own lands, even if on a relatively small scale, repeating at home the lessons absorbed during training. The newly set up nurseries would require technical back-up support. Certain procedures may have to be modified to suit local conditions and some items may not be readily available in the villages. A representative of the implementing VO/agency should periodically visit the nurseries on trouble-shooting missions. As customers may not go to remote villages to buy nursery products, the VO may establish a sales point at a site convenient to customers. This shop may also later be handed over to a Society formed by the nursery operators. Linkages are established with potential bulk buyers including forestry department, farmers, floriculture and horticulture units, etc.

Economics An illustrative list of some major costs likely to be incurred in an Action Plan for setting up a nodal unit and smaller units are shown in the box below.

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