A nursery is the foundation for every successful oil palm plantation. It must produce healthy seedlings having the potential for sustaining large oil yields for 25 years or more and Nespet Farms meet this criteria. Below are the criteria we follow when cultivating our Palm oil tree nursery in Ghana.
Pre-Nursery Overview
Pre-nursery seedling beds, normally 10 m in length x 1.2 m in Photo. A seedling at approximately 21 days old, ready for planting. Shoot and root, which is pointing downward, are clearly distinguishable. With a holding of 1,000 seedlings (100 x 10) planted in 250 gauge, black UV stabilized, 15 cm x 23 cm polybags.
Two rows of drainage holes are punched in the bags. Using the best available hygienic soil, and after sieving it through a 5 mm metal screen and amending it with phosphorus (P) fertilizer, bags should be filled to within 2 cm of the rim. The fertilizer should be mixed thoroughly with the soil to provide optimum P availability to the seedling’s root system. If quality topsoil is used, no further manuring is required in the pre-nursery. The filled polybags must be prepared four weeks before the seed arrives and should be watered daily until planting to ensure adequate P availability.
Transplanting
Pre-nursery seedlings in the four-leaf stage of development (10 to 14 weeks after planting) are usually transplanted to the main nursery, after their gradual adjustment to full sunlight and rigid selection process. During culling, seedlings with abnormal characteristics such as “grassy”, “crinkled”, “twisted”, or “rolled” leaves should be discarded. In case of doubt, the seedling should be removed.
Main Nursery
Pre-nursery seedlings are transplanted into main nursery polybags (i.e., 40 cm x 45 cm, 500 gauge, black UV stabilized) containing soil prepared in the same manner as for the pre-nursery. A 25 cm deep hole is made with a trowel or a cylindrical core cutter in each main nursery polybag. The seedling is transplanted after removing the pre-nursery polybag. Temporary shade (e.g., nipah palm leaflet) and watering should be applied immediately following transplanting to reduce transplanting shock.
To enquire about our Palm Oil Seedlings, Edible Oils, Fats or any of our products, please contact us on +233 (0) 3033 072 73, or send us an email: info@nespetfarms.com
