Paper Example on Nursery Production

Introduction

The use of 'Peat' is on the low and farmers are trying to replace the use completely to focus on the cultivation of nursery crops and ornamental crops as a result of the provision of biowastes and compost manure. Some explanations of various terms are peat, is the brown deposit that looks like the soil formed by vegetable's decomposition in wet acidic conditions. Now, a nursery can be defined as propagated plants grown in a place where they can reach the desired age, and they consist of three main types wholesale nurseries, mail-order nurseries and retail nurseries. Wholesale nurseries are those farmers that plant and grow flowers in bulk in the sense of reselling their produce to retailers, landscapers, and contractors (Bohne, 2001).

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Retail nurseries are those farmers that sell their plants to retail customers from their gardens or from purchasing the product from wholesalers, and mail-order nurseries are people selling their plants through the mail and them too are like retailers they can grow their products or rely on buying from the wholesalers. Mail-order nurseries have a distinction from the other two as they specialize in the growing of plants that are considered a specialty or unique and that can be able to be shipped anywhere for them to gain a profit.

The Purple Coneflower "Echinacea Purpurea"

The global estimate for Echinacea plants in 2012 was roughly 320 million U.S dollars, having it difficult to estimate the monetary return of the flower in New Zealand (Parnham,1996). The Echinacea plant (coneflower) can grow in any climate or soil type with no special condition is required as it is fairly drought and frost resistant. Although, it can best grow in loamy soils that are well-drained and full sun and further for good yields it needs a good soil type and water which is adequate. Clay soil or soils with a high content of clay components should be evaded, the washing of the roots and its preparation is made difficult as it supposed to dry and this can affect the quality of the root and they are found in the Southlands of New Zealand where these type of climate is rampant.

The Echinacea Overview

This type of coneflower the Echinacea is popularly known to be a medicinal herb, it was originally found in North America, it is said it was used by Native Americans to treat insect and snake bites. Herbalist asserts that the Echinacea aid in such things as the immune system of a human being (this is making the person to be more tolerant to live in cold regions), also used as an anti-inflammatory and it can be helpful in the healings of wounds. As pointed out earlier there are nine species of Echinacea in New Zealand, but only two species are sold for profit, the Echinacea purpura and the Echinacea augustifolia. There is one type of echinacea the purple coneflower which boosts someones immune and is popularly known as the herb New Zealand natives turns to for chasing off winter bugs. It is majorly found in the Banks of Peninsula and mainly grown in the plains of New Zealand because they are a rich source of nectar for bees in the area.

The Propagation of the Coneflower

The other type is Echinacea augustifolia which is harder to grow and maintain than the former and very difficult to cope in New Zealand because of the strong grasses, and thus its planted in the Lake Rotorua region where it will grow upright and have full sun in its midst. Study shows that coneflower is a known perennial and with the full sun it grows the hot pink flowers and the style planting (that is suit prairie), the breeders produce plants that are more upright or double cultivars with the ranging of colors going from yellow to peach (Gray, 2003). The propagation of planting starts in the greenhouse, where there is introduction of seedlings for a period of about three to five weeks where now they get to be moved to piece of land (plot) and later planted in a bed with the establishment of the crop is recommended for spring plus the propagation should be done in rows of 20cm apart.

The Environmental Factors of Echinacea

The first thing to know about the environment that an Echinacea can fully grow is as stated earlier usually known to be in a wide range of soil types and climates. Previously saying that it needs a minimal amount of clay content in the soil that is difficult for the drying of the roots and could also affect the quality of the root. Growing Echinacea requires a level of pH that is ideal ranging between 5.5 and 6, and during the several years of growth of the plant, it can surely benefit from top dressing fertilizers and which are determined through soil testing done annually. Echinacea is known to be frost resistant and an impartial drought plant, with the most essential thing being the roots as they agree to be kept moist from irrigation and rainfall. If the plant is being irrigated the best way is that of overhead irrigation because of it having being grown in a scale that is said to have a broad acre. These plants require at least three years before the roots can be said to have grown and ready for harvest but for the flowers they are ready to harvest just only after one year or so when they are in full blossom.

The Overview of Orchidaceae

The New Zealand Native Orchids have a delicate, small and exquisite flowers which can be found in a variety of forms and colors, in the country these native plants are usually overlooked and can be found in herb fields from the coastline to the alpine. There are about 160 different species of the shy flowers that can be found in New Zealand, having being known as the largest flowering plants family. The family's name is 'Orchidaceae' while the botanical name is known as "Phalaenopsis amabilis" having over 50 known species of phalaenopsis, the name being derived from the Greek word phalanx meaning "moth" and opsis meaning "appearance" thus referring to the flower's shape that is moth like of some of the species. Most of the people who trade with orchids are retail based and some began the business as a hobby and some are located in Auckland's North Shore, which sets a precedent of numerous growth opportunities with many conditions of propagating and varieties of plants.

The Environmental Factors of Indoor Orchid

The phalaenopsis orchid or the moth orchid is now becoming the number one favorite Orchid in New Zealand, it is beautiful and from the tropical, it is the topmost selling indoor plant (Nilsson,1992). The plant takes approximately 6 to 8 months to bloom after the spike of the flower is cut, one is supposed to place it in a high light area in a room and not in direct sunlight. The phalaenopsis orchid is available in different colors from white, pink or yellow and with proper care, it can bloom for over 7 months and more and there are very simple to look after than what most people think they require. The orchid having so many species requires an environment that is based on the type of orchid that it is, and even though most have the plants having common traits the environment preferred for the growth is not always the same.

Watering the Orchids

Most species of orchids that are usually grown indoors can be in turn grow outdoors but very few types of the plant can survive winter, orchids whether inside or outside they tend to prefer low to moderate levels of light, minimal watering and high humidity. The way to water the plants is by weekly watering during summer while in winter in every two weeks, with adding the fertilizer into the water and pouring it inside the pot until the water comes out from the bottom plus not allowing the moth orchid to sit in water for a long period. The rate of fertilizer to be used is at a slightly lower level than the instructions indicated on the label, there are a few varieties of orchids that are perfect in growing indoors particularly 'Paphiopedilum, Phalaenopsis, and Cymbidium'.

Conclusion

These type of orchids grow properly near a window that gets constant sunlight and it requires the same temperature as the person living in the house. There is another type of orchids namely "Bletilla striata" commonly known as the Chinese ground orchid a garden orchid that usually grows on the plains of New Zealand and these prefer a shadier environment than their other counterparts. For garden orchids, they are exposed to direct sunlight rather than indirect like their indoor counterparts so the light amount should be largely limited. Terrestrial orchids or garden orchids prefer well-drained soil and should be in a shady environment, overwatering should be avoided, and in cold areas mostly in winter heavy mulching is advised and much like the indoor orchids, moderate temperatures is required.

References

Bohne, H. (2001, September). Growth of nursery crops in peat-reduced and peat-free substrates. In International Symposium on Growing Media and Hydroponics 644 (pp. 103-106). Retrieved from https://www.actahort.org/books/644/644_11.htm

Gray, D. E., Pallardy, S. G., Garrett, H. E., & Rottinghaus, G. E. (2003). Acute drought stress and plant age effects on alkamide and phenolic acid content in purple coneflower roots. Planta Medica, 69(01), 50-55. Retrieved from https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/html/10.1055/s-2003-37026

Nilsson, L. A. (1992). Orchid pollination biology. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 7(8), 255-259. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/016953479290170G

Parnham, M. J. (1996). Benefit-risk assessment of the squeezed sap of the purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) for long-term oral immunostimulation. Phytomedicine, 3(1), 95-102. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0944711396800201