Abstract
Currently, vegetable production systems have been changed to improve yield and quality, leading to an improvement in sustainability. In horticultural cultivation, one of the most important sectors is the seedling production in nurseries. In the past, horticultural seedlings were produced directly by farmers. Nowadays, industrialized nurseries provide seedlings characterized by a uniform growth and an early and contemporaneous development. In addition, consumer concern about the impact of food production on the environment is driving an increased demand for organic vegetables with a consequent increase of agricultural land cultivated by organic methods. Hence, there is a need to produce high-quality seedlings suitable to be cultivated in the organic farming system. Root zone management, for improving seedling quality of organic horticultural crops, remains largely unexploited, such that this review highlights some of the current research and future development priorities, providing useful information to nursery growers. In particular, we reviewed all the scientific and modern knowledge on the production of organic, healthy and vigorous seedlings including the use of: (1) compost and compost tea; (2) agroindustrial byproducts; (3) microbial and non-microbial plant biostimulants; (4) beneficial microorganisms.
Highlights
Increasing current worldwide demand for organic food [1] is promoting research studies to obtain useful guidelines for improving organic farming sustainability
Farmers require a seedling with high quality to overcome transplanting stress in a shorter time
Seedlings with high quality are characterized by tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses, guaranteeing high yield and good quality of the harvest products
Summary
Increasing current worldwide demand for organic food [1] is promoting research studies to obtain useful guidelines for improving organic farming sustainability. Nowadays, regarding horticultural production, farmers prefer transplant seedlings grown in a nursery, both in conventional and in organic farming systems. Specialized and industrialized nurseries can offer seedlings with high quality and uniform growth, more tolerant to abiotic and biotic stresses and with an early and contemporaneous development. The cost of hybrid seeds is very important, and transplanting is an interesting method to reduce the number of seeds per square meter compared to direct sowing in the field. Nursery agronomic management can affect seedling quality and subsequently its field. Nursery agronomic management can affect seedling quality and subsequently its field performance [4]. ObAialll thaendinfnoromn-amtiiocnrorbeipalortpeldanitn bthioestpimreuselannt trse; vi(eivw) mbeanyeafilclioawl mthicerodoerfignaintiiosnmosffospr ebcioifilocggicuaidl ceolinntersolf.oAr lslutphpeoinrtfionrgmnautirosnerryepgorrotwederisnttoheimpprersoevnettrheevireowot mmaaynaalgloewmethnet odfefsieneidtiloinngosfssupietacibfliec gtoubideecliunletisvfaotredsuipnpoorrgtainngicnfuarrmseirnyggsryoswteemrs.to improve the root management of seedlings suitable to be cultivated in organic farming system This review explores four important and current topics about root managemInenptaorftihcourltairc,ultthuirsalresveeiedwlinegxsp: (loi)rceosmfopuorstiamnpdocrotmanptoasnt tdeac;u(irir)eangtrotoinpdicusstaribaolubtyproroodt muacntsa;g(ieimi) emnitcroofbhiaolratincudlntuorna-lmseicerdolbiniaglsp: l(ai)ntcobmiosptoimstualnandtsc;o(mivp) obsetnteefiac;i(aili)maigcrrooionrdguanstirsimals bfyoprrboidouloctgsi;ca(liici)onmtroiclr. obAialll thaendinfnoromn-amtiiocnrorbeipalortpeldanitn bthioestpimreuselannt trse; vi(eivw) mbeanyeafilclioawl mthicerodoerfignaintiiosnmosffospr ebcioifilocggicuaidl ceolinntersolf.oAr lslutphpeoinrtfionrgmnautirosnerryepgorrotwederisnttoheimpprersoevnettrheevireowot mmaaynaalgloewmethnet odfefsieneidtiloinngosfssupietacibfliec gtoubideecliunletisvfaotredsuipnpoorrgtainngicnfuarrmseirnyggsryoswteemrs.to improve the root management of seedlings suitable to be cultivated in organic farming system
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