Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 3.2
Container grown
onion transplants
Fig. 3.3
Melon plug plant
Transplanting Technologies
The development and adoption of polystyrene trays, known as Speedling®, for
transplant production in nurseries was a “stepping stone” technological advance-
ment in the vegetable industry during the early 1970s in Sun City, Florida. Now
containerized transplants or plugs grown in trays with 72 to 800 cells have become
prominent for small and large commercial vegetable farmers worldwide (Cantliffe
2009
) (Figs.
3.2
and
3.3
).
The use of grafting technology for vegetable transplants has also been increasing
rapidly in Europe, Korea, Japan, Mediterranean Basin and the United States in the
last decade, however its use is most common under protected rather than open field
cultivation (Lee and Oda
2003
; Davis et al.
2008
) (Fig.
3.4
).
Machine transplanting is the standard method of establishment for numerous
commercial vegetable crops, including solanaceous (tomato, eggplant, pepper),
cucurbits (melon, seedless and seeded watermelon), cruciferous (cauliflower, cab-
bage and broccoli), asparagus, celery, leek, and artichokes. This is mostly due to
the high cost of hybrid seeds and the minimum root disturbance during transplant-
ing. The importance of improving root development during the nursery period and
to enhance seedling performance in the field has been reviewed by Leskovar and
Stoffella (
1995
). Transplanting allows precise spacing, ensures the production of
early crops and permits timing harvests for specific markets. Weed control may be
