CROP PROGRAMME

Coir for Nursery & Propagation

Coir for nurseries raising seedlings, cuttings and young plants. Start with the tray or pot, planting material, irrigation method and the way plants are lifted or moved at transplant.

Nursery propagation · well-rooted transplant plug

FROM PROPAGATION TO PRODUCTION

Plan the substrate from sowing or sticking to dispatch.

Propagation

State the seed, cutting or incoming young-plant format and the tray cell or pot used at this stage.

Transplant

Describe when plants move, the receiving container and whether plugs are removed by hand or machine.

Production

Match the coir format to the nursery cell, holding pot or final container rather than assuming a production slab is needed.

Dispatch handling

Include how plants are lifted, packed and transported, and the condition needed on arrival.

THE GROWER BRIEF

Check filling, wetting and plug removal in your nursery.

Plant and stage: send the crop or species, seed or cutting format, rooting stage and expected nursery holding period.

Cell or pot: provide the tray drawing or internal dimensions, filling method and planting opening.

Watering: describe mist, overhead, drip or other irrigation, together with the current medium and the issue you want to change.

Handling: explain how plants are lifted and packed. Compare individual coir plugs with coir blends for filling your own trays against that process.

TRIAL BEFORE SCALE

What the grower should measure.

Run the sample in the intended tray and nursery routine. Record filling and hydration, wetting across the tray, rooting and the condition of the plug when lifted. Compare the trial with your current medium at the same plant stage.

Irrigation inputs

Frequency, shot size, source-water EC and feed strategy.

Root-zone response

Drain or run-off, root-zone EC, wetting, rewetting and dry-back.

Crop response

Rooting, plant uniformity, plug integrity and the proportion meeting your transplant or dispatch standard.

Commercial fit

Tray or pot fit, filling speed, lifting method, carton handling and trial-to-order quantities.

GROWER QUESTIONS

Before the substrate trial.

Should I buy formed plugs or coir for filling trays?

Choose around the nursery process. Formed plugs need to fit the cell and planting routine; coir for filling trays needs to suit your filling equipment and required cell packing. Trial the proposed format in the actual tray before changing the full programme.

Should the coir be washed or buffered?

That decision depends on crop sensitivity, source-water chemistry and the grower’s fertigation programme. Specify both processes separately.

What should a nursery coir enquiry include?

Send the crop and propagation stage, tray or pot drawing, planting material, irrigation method and transplant or dispatch routine. Add current medium details, treatment requirements, trial quantity and destination. Use the buyer checklist to agree how the sample will be assessed.

DISCUSS YOUR REQUIREMENT