Chapter 21: Lifting, Grading, Packaging, and Storing

While being lifted, tree seedlings are subject to mechanical damage. At the same time, their foliage may be inoculated with soil-borne spores of storage -mold fungi. During subsequent handling and storage, stock condition may change rapidly as a result of desiccation, molding, metabolic activity, or developmental processes. Damage to or deterioration of stock during and after harvest may be minimized through: choice of the method and date of lifting; prelift root pruning, fungicide application, and physiological conditioning; and post-lift control of stock water potential and temperature. Grading can improve stock quality either by identifying inferior seedlings or batches of stock for culling or by revealing deficiencies in quality that can be avoided in the future through changes in stock -production techniques. To be useful, grading must be in accordance with standards which reflect the stock characteristics necessary for satisfactory field performance. To improve stock quality through changes in cultural and handling practices, nursery managers must investigate the effects of alternative practices on the field-performance potential of the stock they produce.

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Author(s): A. N. Burdett, David G. Simpson

Publication: Nursery Manuals - Forest Nursery Manual—Bareroot