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
Rooftop rainwater harvesting system

A water harvesting system in which rain falling on a roof is led through connecting pipes into a ferro-cement water ...

2 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Tomato grafting

Cleft grafting can be used to produce plants that are resistant to a number of pests and diseases and are ...

2 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Urine application through drip irrigation for bitter gourd production

Application of cattle urine through drip irrigation technology to provide constant fl ow of fertiliser to bitter gourd Bitter gourd vegetables ...

1 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Legume integration

Integration of leguminous crops as intercrops on terrace risers or as relay crops Legumes are widely grown across the hills of ...

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 ...

2 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Using Salix plants to protect stream banks

Stream banks can be protected by planting them with Salix (Salix babylonica); this is a traditional practice that has been ...

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 ...

2 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Riverbed farming

Riverbed farming can be used to increase household income and to improve the food security of landless and land-poor households ...