Abstract
A new nursery box (trade name : Karukaru-new-line) for rice seedlings was developed jointly by the Tochigi Prefecture Agricultural Experiment Station and a material manufacturer (Marusan Sangyo Corp.). It has a depth of about 2/3 of the ordinary nursery box, and the soil used is also reduced to about 2/3. However, the new nursery box is not only light but also good for raising seedlings. In this study, we examined the possibility of using the new nursery box for pool raising of seedlings under the conditions, widely used in Gunma prefecture, for 3 years. Aithough more roots extended from the bottom of the new nursery box when the nursing period was prolonged, the rooting pattern was different and, it was not necessary to cut the roots or to prevent root extension, which was usually necessary with the ordinary nursery box at the time of transplanting. Because of the smaller amount of soil, the amount of fertilizer was also reduced, and the growth in the new nursery box was sometimes inferior without additional fertilizer. However, transplant precision, rooting and early growth were not significantly different from those in the ordinary box, and it is there were no problems for utilizing the new method.
