Using Transplants in

Vegetable Production
WAYNE L. SCHRADER, UC Cooper at i ve Ext ensi on Far m Advi sor, San Di ego Count y
V
egetables grown from tran sp lan ts can be h arvested earli er th an th ose grown
from seed . G rowers wh o u se tran sp lan ts can target early-season m ark ets an d
red u ce th e ti m e n eed ed to p rod u ce a crop , allowi n g th em to p rod u ce a secon d or
th i rd crop d u ri n g a si n gle growi n g season . Tran sp lan ts grown i n th e green h ou se can
be p rotected effi ci en tly agai n st en vi ron m en tal stress, d i sease p ath ogen s, an d i n sect
p ests. Tran sp lan ts can allow growers to establi sh n ear-p erfect stan d s, op ti m al sp ac-
i n g, an d u n i form p h ysi ologi cal p lan t age wi th i n fi eld block s.
Wh ere th e cost of seed i s very h i gh , th e u se of tran sp lan ts m ay actu ally red u ce
th e cost of establi sh i n g a vegetable p lan ti n g becau se less seed i s u sed an d th e n eed
for th i n n i n g an d early weed i n g i s eli m i n ated . Tran sp lan ts also allow m ore effi ci en t
u se of ferti li zer an d i rri gati on water d u ri n g early growth stages.
Tran sp lan ti n g i s both labor i n ten si ve an d cap i tal i n ten si ve. T h e su ccessfu l p ro-
d u cti on of tran sp lan ts requ i res steri li zed growth m ed i a, tem p eratu re an d li gh t con -
trol, effecti ve p est an d d i sease m an agem en t, an d ap p rop ri ate san i tati on p racti ces.
P LA N T A D A P TAT I O N
Wh en seed li n gs are m oved from th e green h ou se to th e fi eld , th ey u n d ergo tranplant
shock a setback i n growth ) . H ow qu i ck ly a p lan t overcom es th i s sh ock an d estab-
li sh es i tself i n th e fi eld d ep en d s on p lan t typ e, en vi ron m en tal con d i ti on s, qu ali ty of
tran sp lan ts p rod u ced , fi eld p rep arati on , an d h an d li n g d u ri n g th e tran sp lan t p rocess.
D i fferen t p lan t sp eci es vary greatly i n th ei r su i tabi li ty for tran sp lan ti n g. A p lan t s
su i tabi li ty for tran sp lan ti n g i s d eterm i n ed by th e sp eed wi th wh i ch i t can regen erate
roots th at are d am aged d u ri n g tran sp lan ti n g an d to reestabli sh n orm al growth .
Vegetable sp eci es th at are well ad ap ted to tran sp lan ti n g i n clu d e tom ato, lettu ce, cab-
bage, B ru ssels sp rou ts, an d broccoli . C elery, on i on , p ep p er, eggp lan t, an d cau li flower
are i n term ed i ate i n th ei r ad ap tati on to tran sp lan ti n g bu t often are su ccessfu lly tran s-
p lan ted . C u cu rbi ts, legu m es, an d sweet corn h ave very slow root re-d evelop m en t,
bu t can be tran sp lan ted su ccessfu lly i f root d i stu rban ce i s k ep t to a m i n i m u m .
Seed less waterm elon , for exam p le, i s a cu cu rbi t th at i s tran sp lan ted on th ou san d s of
acres each year. Tran sp lan ti n g tap root crop s li k e tu rn i p s, beets, an d carrots gen eral-
ly cau ses root d eform ati on an d u n d esi rable lateral root d evelop m en t.
T RA N SP LA N T RO O T I N JU RY
Wh eth er tran sp lan ts are grown i n bed s, flats, con tai n ers, or cell trays, som e root
i n ju ry occu rs d u ri n g rem oval of th e p lan t from th e con tai n er or soi l. Tran sp lan ts
p rod u ced u si n g th e followi n g p racti ces exp eri en ce less tran sp lan t sh ock an d qu i ck -
er reestabli sh m en t:
wi d ely sp aced p lan ts an d d eep p lan ti n g m i x to lessen com p eti ti on
p lan ts grown i n d i vi d u ally to p reven t root en tan glem en t wi th n ei gh bori n g p lan ts
tran sp lan ts grown to m ai n tai n root-soi l con tact wh en th ey are tran sp lan ted
P U B L I C A T I O N 8 0 1 3
UNI VERSI TY OF
CALI FORNI A
Di vi si on of Agri cul t ure
and Nat ural Resources
h t t p : / / an r cat al o g . u cd avi s. ed u
seed li n gs grown to th ei r op ti m al age for tran sp lan ti n g
avoi d an ce of sh oot or root p ru n i n g or d ryi n g
T h e greatest d am age occu rs wh en bare-root tran sp lan ts are p u lled from th e soi l
an d wh en roots are i n ten ti on ally p ru n ed off. C ell tray tran sp lan t p rod u cti on system s
m i n i m i ze th e d i stu rban ce of root-to-soi l con tact, bu t som e root d am age d oes occu r
wh en p lan ts are p u lled from th e trays. T h e least d am age occu rs wi th p ressed p eat
con tai n ers p eat p ots , si n ce th e seed li n g con tai n er i s p lan ted to th e fi eld togeth er
wi th th e tran sp lan t.
T RA N SP LA N T CO N TA I N ERS
Years ago, tran sp lan ts were p rod u ced i n clay p ots, p eat p ellets, or p eat p ots. Tod ay,
m ost tran sp lan ts are grown i n p olystyren e or p lasti c trays. M ost of th ese trays h ave
i n verted p yram i d - or con e-sh ap ed cells th at tap er i n toward th e bottom . Trays wi th
1 .5-i n ch cells n orm ally h ave 1 28 cells p er tray, an d trays wi th 2.5-i n ch cells h ave
rou gh ly 72 cells p er tray. Sm aller cells red u ce p rod u cti on costs an d d ecrease th e si ze
of th e tran sp lan t, bu t becau se a tran sp lan t from a sm all cell h as a m u ch sm aller root
system an d a greater p rop orti on of i ts root-soi l i n terface i s d i stu rbed at p u lli n g ti m e
th e sm all cells also red u ce earli n ess an d th e qu ali ty of th e tran sp lan t. T h e p lan t s
ad ap tati on to tran sp lan ti n g an d i ts abi li ty to reestabli sh n orm al growth qu i ck ly i n
th e fi eld are i m p ortan t con si d erati on s wh en d eterm i n i n g th e m ost d esi rable cell si ze.
Si n ce tran sp lan t trays are reu sed , th ey m u st be san i ti zed after each u se to p re-
ven t th e sp read of d i seases. C on tai n ers can be steri li zed wi th steam or san i ti zi n g
solu ti on s. P roblem s can ari se wh en a san i ti zi n g ri n se i s u sed on i m p rop erly clean ed
trays or wh en con tai n ers are n ot aerated p rop erly after ri n si n g. Trays m u st be
clean ed an d wash ed after u se so th at n o p lan ti n g m i x rem ai n s i n th e trays. T h en th e
trays m u st be steam treated or san i ti zed wi th a regi stered san i ti zi n g solu ti on . You r
C ou n ty Agri cu ltu ral C om m i ssi on er or a li cen sed p est con trol ad vi sor can ad vi se you
on m ateri als th at are regi stered i n you r cou n ty for san i ti zi n g tran sp lan t trays. R i n se
th e trays wi th clear water after th e san i ti zi n g treatm en t an d allow th e trays to ai r-d ry
to p reven t an y carryover of san i ti zi n g m ateri als th at cou ld cau se toxi ci ty i n fu tu re
p lan ti n gs. D i sp osable p lasti c i n serts avai lable for som e p olystyren e trays cover th e
crevi ces cau sed by steam clean i n g, exten d tray li fe, an d m ak e th e rem oval of p lan ts
easi er.
P LA N T I N G M I X
A p lan ti n g m i x serves th ree basi c fu n cti on s: i t p rovi d es su p p ort for th e p lan t, i t
h old s water an d n u tri en ts, an d i t allows gas exch an ge for th e roots. B u lk d en si ty an d
aerati on p oten ti al are extrem ely i m p ortan t con si d erati on s wh en you are selecti n g a
p lan ti n g m i x. You can i n crease root aerati on by i n creasi n g th e p arti cle si ze of th e
m i x, i n creasi n g th e tray s cell si ze, an d carefu lly con trolli n g p lan t-water relati on s.
I t i s essen ti al th at th e green h ou se p lan ti n g m i x be steri lefree of i n sects, d i s-
ease organ i sm s, n em atod es, an d weed seed . M ost com m erci al tran sp lan t m i xes com e
p re-steri li zed . T h e basi c com p on en ts of growi n g m i xes are gen erally sp h agn u m p eat
m oss, p erli te, verm i cu li te, an d a wetti n g agen t. O th er i n gred i en ts m ay i n clu d e
wash ed san d , p rocessed bark , com p osted green waste, an d oth er bi osoli d s. M ost
com m erci al tran sp lan t m i xes are fi n e grai n ed for ease i n fi lli n g sm all cells an d for
good seed germ i n ati on . M i xes u sed for bed d i n g p lan ts or p otti n g soi l are gen erally
coarse i n textu re. Select a m i x th at d rai n s well an d su p p li es ad equ ate aerati on for
h ealth y root d evelop m en t bu t th at h as a m od erate water h old i n g cap aci ty.
USING TRANSPLANTS IN VEGETABLE PRODUCTION 2
C om m erci al m i xes m ay com e wi th or wi th ou t starter n u tri en ts ch arged or n on -
ch arged ) . M i xes th at con tai n slow-release ferti li zers eli m i n ate th e growers op ti on to
slow p lan t growth by wi th h old i n g n u tri en ts. D o n ot u se fi eld soi ls to exten d or m od -
i fy steri le p lan ti n g m i xes. Soi l u su ally d rai n s p oorly an d i s often con tam i n ated wi th
d i sease organ i sm s an d weed seed s. N o si n gle p lan ti n g m i x i s best for all si tu ati on s.
T RA N SP LA N T P RO D U CT I O N SY ST EM S
T h ree tran sp lan t p rod u cti on system s h ave been u sed by C ali forn i a vegetable grow-
ers: green h ou se-grown con tai n eri zed tran sp lan ts, i n -grou n d tran sp lan t p rod u cti on
wi th row covers an d h otbed s, an d i n -grou n d tran sp lan t p rod u cti on i n th e op en fi eld .
In the greenhouse. G reen h ou se con tai n eri zed tran sp lan t p rod u cti on i s th e m ost
com m on an d su ccessfu l tran sp lan t system u sed i n C ali forn i a. T h i s system u su ally
i n volves th e u se of alu m i n u m T-rai ls sh ap ed li k e an i n verted letter T i n cross-sec-
ti on ) . T h ese rai ls are carefu lly sp aced to su p p ort th e ed ges of tran sp lan t trays i n th e
green h ou se. T h e trays are fi lled wi th p lan ti n g m i x by h an d or m ach i n e. Seed are
p laced i n th e trays by h an d or by vacu u m seed i n g m ach i n es th at p lace a si n gle seed
i n to each tray cell. C are m u st be tak en to san i ti ze h an d s an d equ i p m en t u sed i n
tran sp lan t p rod u cti on an d p lan ti n g.
In-ground: Hotbeds. H i stori cally, i n -grou n d tran sp lan t p rod u cti on h as u sed h ot-
bed s for th e p rod u cti on of sweet p otato tran sp lan ts sli p s . A tren ch i s d u g an d p ar-
ti ally fi lled wi th d ecom p osi n g organ i c m atter th at wi ll gen erate h eat. T h e organ i c
m atter i s covered wi th a sm ooth layer of soi l. Sweet p otatoes are carefu lly p laced on
top of th at sm ooth layer of soi l, wh i ch covers th e organ i c m atter, an d ad d i ti on al soi l
i s u sed to cover th e sweet p otatoes an d com p letely fi ll th e tren ch . P lasti c tu n n els are
u sed to cover th e bed s. Ap p roxi m ately 500 p ou n d s of m ed i u m -si zed sweet p otatoes
wi ll grow en ou gh sli p s for 1 acre.
In-ground: Field. F i eld p rod u cti on of bare-root tran sp lan ts i s n ot recom m en d ed
i n vegetable p rod u cti on . T h e ben efi ts of con tai n er-grown green h ou se tran sp lan ts i n
establi sh i n g su p eri or stan d s an d i m p rovi n g total yi eld s far ou twei gh th e ad d ed cost
of th ei r p rod u cti on . F i eld -p rod u ced bare-root tran sp lan ts are less exp en si ve th an
con tai n er-grown tran sp lan ts, bu t bare-root tran sp lan ts d o n ot reestabli sh as well.
T h e p rod u cti on of bare-root tran sp lan ts requ i res a si te p rotected from h i gh
wi n d s an d a well-d rai n ed soi l th at i s d i sease, n em atod e, an d weed free. Seed i s p lan t-
ed i n rows 6 to 1 2 i n ch es ap art wi th i n -row sp aci n g of 1 to 5 i n ch es d ep en d i n g on
p lan t typ e. Sp ri n k ler i rri gati on an d floati n g row covers an d are u sed for frost p ro-
tecti on . B are-root tran sp lan ts are u n d ercu t p ri or to rem oval from th e n u rsery bed s.
U n d ercu tti n g an d m u lti p le h an d li n gs tear off root h ai rs, wou n d th e you n g p lan ts,
an d sp read d i seases.
I RRI G AT I O N A N D FERT I LI Z AT I O N
Ap p rop ri ate i rri gati on an d ferti li zati on togeth er p rod u ce h ealth y, well-form ed tran s-
p lan ts th at reestabli sh qu i ck ly after tran sp lan ti n g. E xcessi ve water an d ferti li zer
ap p li cati on s p rod u ce large, soft p lan ts th at are su scep ti ble to d i sease an d i n sect
p ests. Water an d n u tri en t stress are i m p ortan t tech n i qu es u sed to alter th e si ze,
sh ap e, an d growth rate of tran sp lan ts, an d to tou gh en u p harden seed li n gs before
th ey are tran sp lan ted i n to th e fi eld .
USING TRANSPLANTS IN VEGETABLE PRODUCTION 3
I n th e green h ou se, solu ble ferti li zers are d i ssolved i n to a n u tri en t stock solu ti on
th at i s m etered i n to th e i rri gati on water i n a p rocess called ferti gati on . I f seed i s
p lan ted i n a m i x th at con tai n s starter ferti li zers, ferti gati on i s d elayed for on e or two
week s. O th erwi se, ferti gati on sh ou ld begi n at th e fi rst tru e leaf stage of p lan t d evel-
op m en t. T h e n u tri en t solu ti on sh ou ld be ap p li ed to th e tran sp lan t trays u n ti l i t ju st
begi n s to ru n ou t th e bottom . T h i s en su res th at th e trays recei ve ad equ ate n u tri ti on
an d p reven ts a bu i ld u p of excess salts. T h e m ore often th e n u tri en t solu ti on i s
ap p li ed , th e lower th e n u tri en t con cen trati on requ i red for each i n d i vi d u al ferti ga-
ti on .
D ai ly ferti gati on i s p referable i n m ost system s. F or d ai ly ferti gati on , start wi th
n i trogen N ) con cen trati on s i n th e 1 5 to 30 p p m ran ge an d m od i fy th e con cen tra-
ti on as n eed ed . U se sli gh tly h i gh er rates of N for tom ato, p ep p er, an d cole crop s, an d
lower rates for cu cu rbi ts. I f d ai ly ferti gati on s can n ot be ap p li ed , th e tran sp lan ts
sh ou ld be ferti li zed at least on ce a week wi th n i trogen con cen trati on s i n th e 200
p p m ran ge. O n ly water-solu ble ferti li zer sh ou ld be u sed to m ak e th e n u tri en t solu -
ti on s. U se 3 ou n ces of am m on i u m n i trate an d 4 ou n ces of p otassi u m n i trate i n 1 00
gallon s of water for a n u tri en t solu ti on th at con tai n s 1 00 p p m of n i trogen an d p otas-
si u m . Wi th 1 0.5 ou n ces of 1 21 21 2 ferti li zer d i ssolved i n 1 00 gallon s of water, th e
n u tri en t solu ti on wi ll con tai n 1 00 p p m each of n i trogen , p h osp h orou s P ) , an d
p otassi u m K ) .
I f com p lete N P K ferti li zers li k e 1 21 21 2 or 202020 are u sed i n tran sp lan t
ferti gati on , th e ferti li zer stock solu ti on sh ou ld be tested i n a jar before ap p li cati on .
M i x th e ferti li zer stock solu ti on wi th i rri gati on water to m ak e su re th at th e p h os-
p h orou s i n th e form u lati on d oes n ot p reci p i tate or form a gel. T h e fi n al ferti gati on
solu ti on sh ou ld be tested i n overh ead wateri n g on a few p lan ts to en su re th at n o
p h ytotoxi ci ty p lan t i n ju ry) occu rs.
LI G H T A N D CA RBO N D I O X I D E EN H A N CEM EN T
Su p p lem en tal li gh ti n g an d carbon d i oxi d e C O
2
) en ri ch m en t h ave been sh own to
i n crease tran sp lan t growth i n green h ou ses. T h ese factors can h elp growers p rod u ce
h i gh -qu ali ty tran sp lan ts wh en extrem ely sh ort d ay len gth s li m i t p rod u cti on . I n com -
m erci al tran sp lan t p rod u cti on , C O
2
en ri ch m en t on ly h as p oten ti al ben efi ts i n n orth -
ern lati tu d es wh ere green h ou ses are closed for a si gn i fi can t p orti on of th e d ay.
Su p p lem en tal li gh ti n g i s p rofi table on ly wh ere electri ci ty i s i n exp en si ve an d wh ere
th e h eat from lam p s h elp s to d ecrease oth er h eati n g costs.
T RA N SP LA N T A G E
Tran sp lan ti n g at a very early seed li n g stage red u ces tran sp lan t sh ock . Very old tran s-
p lan ts m ay h ave reach ed a p h ysi ologi cal age at wh i ch rep rod u cti ve growth i s i n i ti -
ated rath er th an vegetati ve growth . P rem atu re floweri n g from very old tran sp lan ts
gi ves earli er fru i t, bu t lowers yi eld s becau se th e p lan ts are so sm all. C ell trays requ i re
a sli gh tly root-bou n d con d i ti on i f p lan ts are to be rem oved wi th ou t d am agi n g soi l-
to-root con tact. R oot-bou n d tran sp lan ts gen erally reestabli sh m ore slowly th an
you n ger tran sp lan ts. Ap p roxi m ate ti m es requ i red to grow green h ou se tran sp lan ts
from seed are li sted i n T able 1 .
USING TRANSPLANTS IN VEGETABLE PRODUCTION 4
P EST A N D D I SEA SE M A N A G EM EN T
A warm , m oi st green h ou se p rovi d es an i d eal en vi ron m en t for th e d evelop m en t of
p lan t d i seases. C lean seed s, steri le p lan ti n g m i x, steri le trays, an d good green h ou se
su rface san i tati on are essen ti al p arts of tran sp lan t p rod u cti on . A low relati ve h u m i d -
i ty i n si d e th e green h ou se also h elp s to con trol d i seases. I rri gati on an d ferti gati on
sh ou ld on ly be ap p li ed wh en p lan t foli age can d ry qu i ck ly. D o n ot allow sm ok i n g i n
green h ou ses or allow work ers wh o sm ok e to tou ch p lan ts u n less th ey fi rst wash
th ei r h an d s i n alcoh ol. Sp rayi n g p lan ts i n trays wi th Bacillus thuringiensis B T )
before tran sp lan ti n g th em to th e fi eld i s an effi ci en t way to p rotect seed li n gs from
lep i d op terou s i n sects d u ri n g th ei r fi rst d ays i n th e fi eld . I n tegrated p est m an agem en t
I P M ) recom m en d ati on s are avai lable on th e World wi d e Web at th e U n i versi ty of
C ali forn i a I P M websi te, h ttp ://www.i p m .u cd avi s.ed u .
BRU SH I N G T RA N SP LA N T S
H i gh p lan t d en si ty i n trays resu lts i n rap i d elon gati on of th e p lan ts stem s. T h i s can
p rod u ce tall, weak -stem m ed p lan ts th at are su scep ti ble to break age d u ri n g tran s-
p lan ti n g. Brushing th e m ech an i cal sti m u lati on of seed li n gs h as been sh own to
red u ce stem elon gati on d u ri n g p lan t d evelop m en t. R esearch wi th tom ato p lan ts
sh ows th at ten gen tle bru sh i n g strok es accom p li sh ed by gen tly ru bbi n g th e top of
th e p lan ts wi th a clean wood en d owel) each d ay begi n n i n g at a can op y h ei gh t of
2.25 i n ch es 6 cm ) si gn i fi can tly red u ces tran sp lan t h ei gh t. P lan ts i n th e stu d y grew
0.1 2 i n ch 3 m m ) p er d ay wi th bru sh i n g an d 0.24 i n ch 6 m m ) p er d ay wi th ou t. T h e
p lan ts fi n al h ei gh t was d i rectly related to th e n u m ber of d ays th at th e p lan ts recei ved
bru sh i n g. B ru sh i n g h as p roved su ccessfu l i n solan aceou s crop s i n clu d i n g tom ato,
p ep p er, an d eggp lan t) , bu t care sh ou ld be tak en wi th cu cu rbi ts, wh i ch are m ore frag-
i le an d can be d am aged by bru sh i n g.
H A RD EN I N G T RA N SP LA N T S
Hardening i s a p racti ce of p recon d i ti on i n g tran sp lan ts to tolerate fi eld stress by
exp osi n g th em to lower or h i gh er tem p eratu res an d to lower m oi stu re levels.
H ard en i n g red u ces a p lan t s su ccu len ce, closes i ts stom ates leaf p ores , lowers i ts
tran sp i rati on rate, an d ch an ges i ts h orm on e balan ce i n creases absci si c aci d [AB A] ,
all of wh i ch con tri bu te to a d ecreased growth rate. After h ard en i n g, p lan ts sh ou ld
USING TRANSPLANTS IN VEGETABLE PRODUCTION 5
Table 1. Ti me requi red f or grow i ng t ranspl ant s f rom seed i n t he greenhouse*
Veget able Number of weeks Veget able Number of weeks
Art i choke 67 Let t uce 57
Broccol i 57 Muskmel on 34
Cabbage 57 Oni on 1012
Caul i f l ow er 57 Pepper 68
Cel ery 1012 Summer squash 34
Cucumber 34 Tomat o 57
Eggpl ant 68 Wat ermel on 34
* Tabl e adapt ed f rom Lorenz and Maynard, 1988.
always be th orou gh ly watered to obtai n fu ll tu rgor p ri or to tran sp lan ti n g. E xcessi ve
h ard en i n g exh au sts th e p lan t s en ergy reserves. T h e d egree of h ard en i n g sh ou ld be
tai lored to su i t fi eld an d en vi ron m en tal con d i ti on s. F avorable tran sp lan ti n g con d i -
ti on s an d p rop erly p rep ared fi eld s requ i re less h ard en i n g.
FO LI A G E A N D RO O T T RI M M I N G
Tri m m i n g of tran sp lan t foli age or roots i s an old p roced u re th at i s gen erally m i su n -
d erstood , an d alm ost always d etri m en tal. T h e i n ten ti on of top p i n g i s to red u ce tran -
sp i rati on water loss an d m oi stu re d em an d by th e leaves. Top p i n g actu ally rem oves a
sou rce of p h otosyn th ates p lan t en ergy) , h owever, an d th e rem ai n i n g p h otosyn -
th ates m ove toward sh oot growth at th e exp en se of root regen erati on . I n som e si tu -
ati on s, foli age tri m m i n g d oes becom e n ecessary: i f tran sp lan ti n g m u st be d elayed ,
foli age tri m m i n g can be a n ecessary correcti ve op ti on for h old i n g th e p lan ts u n ti l
th ey can be u sed .
W AT ERI N G - I N T RA N SP LA N T S
At tran sp lan ti n g, water m u st be ap p li ed i n on e of two ways. E i th er th e fi eld m u st be
i rri gated i m m ed i ately after tran sp lan ti n g or water m u st be p u t i n to th e p lan ti n g h ole
wi th th e tran sp lan t. Tran sp lan t reestabli sh m en t i s i m p roved wh en water i s ap p li ed
to th e soi l-root en vi ron m en t at tran sp lan ti n g. T h i s p racti ce p rovi d es a tem p orary
water reserve an d h elp s to bri n g soi l p arti cles i n to closer con tact wi th th e roots. T h e
tran sp lan t an d growi n g m ed i u m sh ou ld get a li gh t coveri n g of fi eld soi l to p reven t
m oi stu re from wi ck i n g away from th e li gh ter growi n g m ed i a u sed for tran sp lan t
d evelop m en t.
Wateri n g-i n an d p lacem en t of th e tran sp lan t at th e p rop er d ep th wi ll red u ce
tran sp lan t loss attri bu table to i n -fi eld d ryi n g. H oles for th e tran sp lan ts sh ou ld be of
su ffi ci en t si ze an d d ep th to allow p lan ti n g wi th ou t d am age to th e tran sp lan ts. T h e
ben d i n g of roots d u ri n g tran sp lan ti n g J-rooti n g ) can cau se slower reestabli sh -
m en t an d a loss of earli n ess. Tran sp lan ts wi th very lon g root system s are often lai d
i n to a sm all fu rrow an d covered wi th soi l. T h i s L-rooti n g i s p referable to cu tti n g
th e root system sh ort to m ak e th e tran sp lan t easi er to h an d le.
A sli gh t i n crease i n p lan ti n g d ep th h as been sh own to be a growth sti m u lan t i n
som e tran sp lan ted vegetable crop s. T h e stan d ard p racti ce h as gen erally been to p lan t
tom ato an d p ep p er tran sp lan ts to a level between th e cotyled on s an d th e root ball.
Several research stu d i es i n F lori d a an d C ali forn i a h ave sh own th at p lan ti n g tom ato
an d p ep p er tran sp lan ts d eep er d own to th e fi rst tru e leaf i n creases early growth
an d yi eld .
STA RT ER FERT I LI Z ER SO LU T I O N S
D i lu te solu ti on s of water-solu ble ferti li zers are som eti m es ap p li ed at th e ti m e of
tran sp lan ti n g to sti m u late early growth . T h e water ap p li cati on often h elp s th e tran s-
p lan t m ore th an th e n u tri en ts. Starter solu ti on s n orm ally con tai n sm all am ou n ts of
N , P, an d K , an d varyi n g am ou n ts of m i cron u tri en ts. C on cen trated ferti li zers ap p li ed
at tran sp lan ti n g can i n ju re roots an d cau se water stress for th e tran sp lan ts.
A N T I - T RA N SP I RA N T S
T h e m ai n ten an ce of correct water balan ce i n th e tran sp lan t i s cri ti cal to i ts su rvi val
an d reestabli sh m en t. An ti -tran sp i ran ts can red u ce water loss at th e leaf su rface by
i n d u ci n g stom atal closu re or p rovi d i n g a p h ysi cal barri er to water loss. I f you u se
an ti -tran sp i ran ts, ap p ly th em before you p u ll th e tran sp lan ts ou t of th ei r trays.
USING TRANSPLANTS IN VEGETABLE PRODUCTION 6
REFEREN CES
G arn er, L . C ., an d T . B jork m an . 1 996. M ech an i cal con d i ti on i n g for con trolli n g
excessi ve elon gati on i n tom ato tran sp lan ts: Sen si ti vi ty to d ose, frequ en cy an d
ti m i n g of bru sh i n g. J. Am er. Soc. H ort. Sci . 1 21 :894900.
G ran berry, D . M ., et al. 1 999. C om m erci al p rod u cti on of vegetable tran sp lan ts.
Ath en s, G eorgi a: C oop erati ve E xten si on Servi ce, U n i versi ty of G eorgi a C ollege
of Agri cu ltu re an d E n vi ron m en tal Sci en ces.
L oren z, O . A., an d D . N . M ayn ard . 1 988. K n ott s h an d book for vegetable growers.
N ew York : Joh n Wi ley & Son s.
Vavri n a, C . S., et al. 1 998. P roceed i n gs of th e work sh op on tran sp lan t p rod u cti on
an d p erform an ce. H ortTech n ology 8 4) :479555.
FO R M O RE I N FO RM AT I O N
You ll fi n d d etai led i n form ati on on m an y asp ects of vegetable p rod u cti on i n th ese
an d oth er p u bli cati on s, sli d e sets, an d vi d eos from U C AN R :
C om m erci al G reen h ou se Vegetable H an d book , p u bli cati on 21 575
I n tegrated P est M an agem en t for Tom atoesF ou rth E d i ti on , p u bli cati on 3274
I n tegrated P est M an agem en t for Tom atoes, sli d e set 98/1 03
Sm all-Scale P osth arvest H an d li n g P racti ces for H orti cu ltu ral C rop s, vi d eo V99-C
Vegetable C rop s: P lan ti n g an d H arvesti n g P eri od s for C ali forn i a, p u bli cati on 2282
Also of i n terest:
G rowers Weed I d en ti fi cati on H an d book , p u bli cati on 4030
Weed s of th e West, p u bli cati on 3350
To ord er th ese p rod u cts, vi si t ou r on li n e catalog at h ttp ://an rcatalog.u cd avi s.ed u .
You can also p lace ord ers by m ai l, p h on e, or fax, or requ est a p ri n ted catalog of p u b-
li cati on s, sli d e sets, an d vi d eos from
U n i versi ty of C ali forn i a
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websi te at h ttp ://an rcatalog.u cd avi s.ed u .
P u bli cati on 801 3
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USING TRANSPLANTS IN VEGETABLE PRODUCTION 7
ISBN 978-1-60107-193-4