Back to solutions
2 Jan 2020 | NEPCAT technologies

Polypit nursery

1 min Read

70% Complete

A simple, inexpensive and practical method for raising healthy plant seedlings

During the winter in Nepal’s middle mountains, the soil temperature generally remains at 5-10oC above the ambient air temperature. This principle was used to design a simple, inexpensive, and effective nursery technology for raising vegetable and horticulture seedlings in colder regions. The polypit technology allows seedlings to be raised by protecting them from the freezing temperatures that occur mostly at night.

Polypits are about 1m deep pits dug into the ground and covered with semitransparent polythene sheets, preferably UV stabilised and supported on bamboo frames. A 30 cm high mud wall is built across the slope on the upper side of the pit. The polythene sheet is sealed on the upper side of the pit, leaving three sides unsealed but held down with stones that can be lifted to access the pit. The base and sides of the polypit are left as they are with no form of plastering.

light green: districts in 2007

WOCAT database reference: QT NEP19

Location: Panchkhal VDC of the Jhikhu Khola watershed, Kabhrepalanchok district, Nepal

Technology area: <1 km2

SWC measure: Structural

Land use: Annual cropping

Climate: Humid subtropical

Related approach: Not described

Compiled by: Madhav Dhakal, ICIMOD

Date: November 2006

Download PDF

2 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Sustainable land management using controlled gullying in ‘jagidol’ areas

An indigenous technology to help control channelled water during the rainy season and conserve it during the dry season For more ...

1 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
No-till garlic cultivation

No-till is a farming system in which the seeds are planted directly into untilled soil which still contains the previous ...

1 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
A low-cost polyhouse for tomato production in the rainy season

Smallholder farmers can use polyhouses to produce high demand vegetables, such as tomatoes, and can earn a substantial income from ...

1 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Low cost drip irrigation

An irrigation system which allows the slow and precise delivery of water to crops Drip irrigation is a very water-efficient irrigation ...

1 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Biodynamic composting

A faster and more effective way to produce high quality compost in large quantities by surface composting using dry and ...

1 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Kiwi fruit cultivation

Kiwi fruit cultivation on sloping land in the mid-hill areas of Nepal can help prevent soil erosion and is a ...

2 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Traditional irrigated rice terraces

Level bench terraces with risers protected by fodder grasses, used for the irrigated production of rice, potatoes and wheat The level ...

2 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Rehabilitation of degraded communal grazing land

Rehabilitation measures, including eyebrow pits and live fencing, were implemented on degraded communal grazing land to reestablish a protective vegetative ...