The perfect plant: How young plant quality impacts your bottom line

Your greenhouse business relies on the state of your plants. High-quality plants mean a good business, just as poor quality plants can lead to failure. This raises the question: what is the perfect plant?

What is the perfect young plant?

When you’re purchasing young plants from propagation companies, you have a lot of considerations to make. You want to ensure you’re set up for success by starting with the best plants possible.

A high-quality plant grows undisturbed and is free from diseases. Sometimes propagation companies confine plants to keep them small, which can sometimes damage roots or stems. On the other hand, good quality plants have been pruned correctly, so they aren’t too leafy or too large. A good plant can withstand some stress, but still has the opportunity to grow with little disturbance.

Disease-free is also imperative for a perfect plant. An infected young plant can lead to a pandemic in your greenhouse, destroying your harvest for the season. Learn more about keeping young plants disease-free here:
https://paskal-group.com/run-your-greenhouse-like-a-hospital-best-hygiene-practices-for-grafting-and-propagation/

To summarize, look for the following in perfect plants:

• Generative balance in early growth
• Visible signs of vigorous growth
• Healthy root system
• Good quality grafting
• Disease-free
• Undisturbed early growth
• Plant quality impacts crop results. Higher quality plants could lead to a 10%-15% increase in production, maybe even up to 10 kilos more per square meter of greenhouse. In large operations, this is huge.

What factors affect plant quality?

Good quality plants need a consistent environment to support their growth. Factors to consider are:

• Temperature: Plants thrive at specific temperature. For example, most tomato varieties thrive best in temperatures of about 16 degrees Celsius at night up to 25 degrees Celsius during the day.
  The daily temperature range allows plants to transpire, which is necessary for plants’ metabolisms.
  If it’s too cold, plants won’t transpire, which will hurt the flow of nutrients through their shoots. However, too high temperatures can lead to too much transpiration, which will dehydrate and stress the plants.
• Humidity: Humidity also affects crop transpiration. In high humidity, plants retain moisture, which can hinder the uptake of nutrients. Conversely, in too low humidity, water evaporates faster, which can lead to dehydration and wilting.
• Radiation: While plants need natural light for photosynthesis, too much radiation from the sun can damage plant tissue.
• Nutrients: Nutrient-rich soil provides plants with the vitamins and minerals they need to grow. Too few nutrients can stunt growth or lead to yellowing plants. Too much of some nutrients can also cause damage to roots or block absorption through the stem.

Too much or too little of anything can be bad for plants. It’s best to avoid extremes in either direction to maintain a consistent environment.

Managing the optimal environment for young plants

How do you know if you have too much or too little of anything in your greenhouse?
You check and measure constantly. It’s important to invest in the right tools to protect plants and maintain a consistent environment.

Tools to consider:

• Radiation screens that block out extra radiation
• A fog system to maintain optimal humidity
• A quality irrigation system to distribute water and nutrients equally to every plant
• Grow lights to provide artificial light during winter seasons
• Climate control tools that can increase or decrease temperatures are needed

You can check the effectiveness of the environment you have created by tracking your plants. Check your plants’ temperature, transpiration, and growth. You can adjust measurements accordingly.

Keep in mind that small young plants are more susceptible to extremes, meaning more precision is required when creating their environment. More mature plants can withstand more stress and will be less affected by varying environmental factors.

Trays vs. blocks: what’s best for young plants?

Trays and blocks are two popular methods for growing young plants in nurseries and propagation companies. Each method has pros and cons. Your choice depends on your crop, scale, space, transplanting method, and resources. Let’s compare.

Often small plants are moved from trays to blocks as they grow. In this case, farmers must be very careful during the transition not to damage roots or stems as the plant is removed from the tray. Blocks provide plants with more freedom to grow undisturbed, which, as we previously mentioned, is one of the qualifications for quality young plants. This isn’t to say that trays are bad, they simply limit growth to a certain extent.

Depending on the size and scope of your greenhouse, you might choose to skip the tray stage altogether. Some farmers choose to introduce small plants in trays to their greenhouse, while others wait until plants are slightly more mature. Smaller plants are significantly cheaper, and you’ll be able to plant more per square meter. However, they might sustain root damage from their trays and they might take significantly longer to flower and bear fruit. Larger plants, on the other hand, are more expensive and require more space.

Supporting your perfect young plants

It’s your job as a farmer or greenhouse manager to ensure you start off with the best plants. While propagation companies work hard to provide top quality plants, you must do your own due diligence. Inspect everything and choose your plants wisely. An agronomist can provide personalized suggestions for your greenhouse. You’ll see the difference in your bottom line.