The journey to smart propagation systems

Advances in manual, semi-mechanised, automated and robot-assisted silvicultural technologies were discussed at the modern silviculture symposium, and it seems the common global thread in commercial nurseries is the Ellepot paper pots propagation system.
It is used extensively in South America and has taken root in South Africa, where it is used by most large forestry and horticultural nurseries. In New Zealand, Scion and forestry companies like Timberlands are experimenting with moving away from bare root hedges and using paper pots and containerised stock.
Underscoring the move to modernised nurseries is data collection and analysis and appropriate reactions. Speaking at the symposium, Dr Sascha Beck-Pay suggested that forestry nurseries join the Seedling Growers Association of South Africa (SGASA) and use its auditing system to add value to their nursery management practices.
Suzano
Suzano’s Dr Alex Freitas and Bruno Reis described the strategic and operational benefits of automating nurseries, paper pots and mechanised planting systems in Brazil. Suzano is Latin America’s largest paper and pulp company and celebrates its centenary this year.
Bruno and Alex said the company invests in research, development and innovation to mitigate climate change, the shortage of labour caused by mass urbanisation, increasing costs and challenges of managing the seedling supply chain over a vast geographic spread.
The company harnesses strategic nursery alliances, genomics, software, sensors, drones, aircraft, artificial intelligence (AI) and data from sources that include NASA to model, develop and implement high-tech, traceable and site-specific clonal forestry.
Ellepot
Wynand de Swardt of Sappi, Geert Maris of TTA, Joep Hendricks of ISO Horti Innovators, Darcy Werneck and Darren Stone of Ellepot and Craig Ford of Timberlands spoke about changing propagation regimes and automation and materials handling in “smart” nurseries.
Wynand, Sappi Forests Nurseries Divisional Manager, explained how the changing forestry environments, customer needs, technologies, employee health and safety, and production costs prompted Sappi’s journey to build intelligent nurseries.
He described the improved nursery systems Sappi is implementing and how ellepot propagation systems are integral to the process.
Darren and Darcey from Ellepot highlighted the significance of using Ellepots. They said Ellepot is a disruptive technology that has changed forestry nurseries for 20 years.
It reduces propagation time by 15%, optimises space and resources in the nursery, and increases seedling survival rate by 20-30% on marginal sites, saving money and resources on blanking and mortalities infield.
Geert of TTA in the Netherlands said that the country’s horticulture industry is facing issues including declining seed quality, rising cost of labour, and the lack of manual labour for nurseries. These challenges have necessitated innovations such as automated nursery propagation, seedling handling and transport systems.

Irrigation
Shaun of Ellepot SA emphasised the importance of managing irrigation in forestry nurseries. “I believe 90% of plant issues are caused in the nurseries”.
Irrigation systems must be well-designed and built around the macro- and micro-climate needs of the plants. The macro climate is influenced by the greenhouse design and climate control tools.
Nursery managers must understand the micro-climate because the pot dimensions, Ellepot paper and substrate properties affect the air-to-water ratio. “We must be more on the ball with irrigation when using paper pots”, he commented.
Moisture levels must be constantly managed, the data collected and processed and decisions made as quickly as possible. “Technology is moving fast, and sensors are getting cheaper”, Shaun said. “AI is coming in and giving us powerful environmental control tools. However, nothing beats letting the roots do the talking”, he advised.
Research in New Zealand
Craig is the Nursery Operations Manager at Kaingaroa Timberlands in New Zealand. He presented the research undertaken by the company in comparing the New Zealand standard practice of bare root production with containerised production.
Bare root production is manual labour intensive with highly seasonal production and planting times. The industry considers bare-root planting stock tough and containerised planting stock “softer. However, labour costs are escalating, temperatures are increasing with less predictable rainfall, fewer permitted chemicals and poor water management all contribute to containerised stock opportunities.
Craig said the research was done using two containerised and two barefoot treatments. The containerised systems with the TS48 trays, paper pots and ellepot trays. Clones in Ellepots lifted 11% higher than the identical clones in bare-root nurseries (62% vs 51%). Two clones in Ellepots were dispatched in May at 76% and 66%. They are usually ready only in September.
“Global and local experience has highlighted that the Ellepot system provides further advantages over other containerised systems”, he said.
Research in SA
Dr Ullrich Hechter discussed Mondi’s tests comparing paper pots with Unigro 128 inserts using Sutherland media or an Eucalyptus clone and seedling on a poor site at Dumbe. The control was Unigro 128 with Mondi media and no fertiliser.
The first objective was to test the robustness of paper pots in terms of initial survival using “single-pass planting” with semi-mechanised planting equipment to ascertain the potential to fully mechanise planting in the future.
The second objective was to evaluate tree survival and growth for two different root plug types to determine which root plug combination is the best suited for the implementation of “single-pass planting” (>95 % survival at three months). The third objective was determining which root plug type best suits fully automated planting.
Ullrich said they found planting paper pots more efficient because there is less handling. Also, paper pot root plugs are more consolidated, retain moisture better and have more active white roots than plastic insert root plugs. Significantly, paper pot root plugs are hardier than plastic insert root plugs and can withstand more mishandling, especially using semi-mechanised and fully mechanised planting systems.
He concluded that there are potential benefits of using paper pots for re-establishment purposes.
Three-month results at Dumbe show that paper pot plugs outperform Unigro 128 plugs in initial survival and growth, promoting “single-pass planting”. The reasons for this may lie with the improved survival of paper pot plants due to better quality root plugs and improved robustness.
Twelve-month results show that paper pot plugs improve growth and uniformity compared to Unigro 128 plugs, which is significant for seedlings and not for clones. Ullrich cautioned, “Determining final yield gains through paper pots and control release fertiliser requires monitoring for at least a rotation. However, early canopy closure results may indicate the potential improvement at the rotation end.

Labour
The question arising from the first day of the conference: How do we balance automation of operations and the social responsibility of employing communities living around tree plantations? How can the global forestry community marry advancement in nursery technology with semi- and skilled labour and address unemployment in rural areas?”.
By Joy Crane & Justin Nyakudanga