8.5 million seedlings and cuttings lifted at Forests NSW nursery

More than 8.5 million pine seedlings and cuttings are expected to be lifted at Forests NSW Tumut nursery this year.

Forests NSW nursery manager Dean Page said the lifting started on 31 May and was due to finish in early September.

He said managing the crop this year had been a challenge, due to extended high temperatures throughout summer and early autumn, which were extremely favourable for weed and pathogen development.

"This meant our input and response to the crop’s requirements was greatly increased in order to ensure we achieved the results needed to fulfill plantation orders of planting stock for the season," Mr Page said.

With another large crop this year came more jobs for people working in the nursery.

"This year in excess of 50 casual staff are being employed in addition to the nursery’s permanent workforce," Mr Page said.

"Plus there is a flow-on effect for the region, as additional people are also needed to prepare and plant the crop, in addition to the considerable expenditure by the nursery on local goods and services during the growing of the crop."

Seventy-five per cent of the crop is sent out across NSW to be planted in State-owned plantations, while 25 per cent goes to external customers as far north as Grafton and southern Queensland, across to the NSW coast and the ACT and down to northern Victoria.

"It is a high-tech nursery with improved genetic stock and the demand for our seedlings and cuttings just keeps on growing, with an ever increasing demand from internal and external customers," Mr Page said.

Some of nursery’s major private customers include Willmott Forests, ACT Forests, Hume Forests and Southern Tree Farm Forestry Network.

At the same time stock is being lifted at the nursery, almost 1.7 million cuttings have been established or ‘set’ as the start for the 2008 crop.

Mr Page said last season’s extremely dry conditions had a detrimental effect on planting survivability.

"This year the nursery is applying a moisture retaining gel to the root systems of the plants in an effort to enhance plant survival by reducing moisture loss during transport, storage and the early plant establishment period," he said.

Mr Page said maintaining the quality of the stock was crucial and seedlings and cuttings must be kept moist and cool as they were transported out by truck in containers for planting.
          
 "It is essential to have the best material available as these seedlings and cuttings will become high-value logs further down the track," he said.