Session 3: Nursery Raising in Soilless Medium
Unit 2: Seed Selection and Seedling Production
Textual Question-Answers
Check Your Progress
Fill in the Blanks
1. For pumpkin, pro-trays with ……………… cells per tray areused.
Ans: 50
2. Big-sized cells influence the ……………… of the crop.
Ans: yield
3. When bigger cells are used, the plant has more ……………… togrow.
Ans: space
4. Dark coloured pro-trays tend to cause faster growth than……………… coloured trays.
Ans: light
5. About ……………… pro-trays (98 cells/tray) are required forseedling production for one hectare.
Ans: 200
6. The ……………… allows good aeration to pro-trays.
Ans: vermiculite
7. Vermiculite does not support ……………… growth in the tray.
Ans: algae
8. Pro-trays are made of soft plastic with shallow ………………
Ans: cells
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Pro-trays growing medium has vermiculite because ………………
(a) it is easy to apply evenly
(b) it has good aeration
(c) it does not support algae
(d) all of the above
Ans: (d) all of the above
2. Coco peat ………………
(a) is sterilisable
(b) is light in weight
(c) has good water-holding capacity
(d) all of the above
Ans: (d) all of the above
3. Approximately ……………… kg of coco peat is required forfilling one pro-tray.
(a) 1.2
(b) 2
(c) 2.2
(d) 3
Ans: (a) 1.2
Descriptive Questions
1. Why do we raise nursery in pro-trays?
Ans: Nursery is raised in pro-trays to obtain healthy, uniform and diseasefree seedlings. Pro-trays ensure better germination, easy handling, reduced mortality, and efficient use of seeds.
2. Which medium is used for filling pro-trays?
Ans: The medium used for filling pro-trays is a mixture of coco peat, vermiculite and perlite in suitable proportions.
3. What is the significance of vermiculite used in the planting of acrop in pro-trays?
Ans: Vermiculite improves aeration, retains moisture, provides a favourable environment for root growth and does not support algae or diseasecausing organisms.
4. Write down the procedure of sowing seeds in pro-trays.
Ans: Pro-trays are filled with growing medium, lightly pressed andwatered. One seed is placed in each cell at proper depth and covered lightlywith medium. The trays are then watered gently and kept under protectedconditions.
5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of planting seeds inpro-trays?
Ans: Advantages include uniform seedlings, better root development, less disease incidence and easy transplanting. Disadvantages include higherinitial cost and the need for proper care and management.
6. Write the criteria for the selection of pro-trays.
Ans: Pro-trays should be of durable plastic, have proper cell size, adequatedrainage holes, uniform cells and be reusable and easy to handle.
7. Write about the pro-tray nursery technique for solanaceousvegetables under protected cultivation.
Ans: In protected cultivation, solanaceous vegetable seeds are sown inpro-trays filled with sterilised growing medium. Trays are kept in polyhousesor shade nets with controlled temperature and moisture. Regular wateringand plant protection measures are followed to raise healthy seedlings fortransplanting.
