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

1 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Gully plugging using check dams

Small dam structures constructed across erosion gullies Check dams are small low structures built across a gully or a channel to ...

1 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Contour bunding

A traditional low-cost method of soil conservation suitable for sloping land; it promotes water retention and helps prevent erosion. Contour bunding ...

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
Riverbank protection

Local materials and knowledge can be used to construct low-cost structural measures that help to prevent the erosion of riverbanks ...

1 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Low cost micro-sprinkler irrigation

An irrigation system that delivers small-sized water droplets through a rotating head allowing longer watering time with less runoff Micro-sprinkler irrigation ...

1 Jan 2020 NEPCAT technologies
Organic pest management

Promotion of botanical pesticides for organic pest management and liquid manure Production of fresh vegetable is often hampered by pests which ...

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
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 ...