Nursery technologies

The regeneration of fast-growing plantations starts from the intricate process of propagating plants at a nursery. The goal of a forestry nursery is to produce high-quality plants that can survive, grow, and produce an optimal yield for the landowner at the end of the rotation. This chapter focuses on the processes and technologies used for producing plants from cuttings and seeds for commercial forest regeneration. Furthermore, this chapter describes the process of growing containerised plants by detailing the rooting, growing, hardening-off, and dispatch stages. Additionally, actions such as watering, fertigation, and weeding, which support the survival and growth of the plants, are explained. The plant quality assessment parameters are described with a focus on seedlings suitable for mechanised planting. Finally, existing and forthcoming precision technologies for nurseries are discussed.