Nurseries, A Key Factor to Farmer Success
Gadung Farmers Group is located in Ngadu Mbolu Village, Umbu Ratu Nggay Barat District, Sumba Tengah Regency, NTT province. A group that consists of 15 members , used to sow vegetables and save seeds by spreading them directly on seedling beds. The results were not as expected, with merely a 50-60% rate of emergence because many seeds and young seedlings were eaten by insects, and the growth was not uniform. Also, they tend to do transplanting when the seedlings are 1 month old or even more — what this group does is very risky because uprooting will inhibit plant growth when it is planted in the beds and requires a sufficient adaptation process when transplanting.
After participating in training sessions from YBTS field staff, they established a nursery house of 3x3 meters in size sheltering the seedling raising process in a good manner. They bought good-quality seeds from a local kiosk based on the recommendation by the field staff. They use organic materials such as coconut leaves as roof, banana leaves or small plastic tubes containing a good mixture of topsoil and compost as media. They watered young seedlings regularly. By applying that method, they have succeeded in raising small chili seedlings at an 85% or more emergence rate. They also learned that 3 weeks age of seedlings is the proper timing for transplanting as the seedling's roots are well contained. Thus, transplanting at the right time is one of the keys so plantation could optimally grow.