Important Points for Your Musangu Tree Nursery and Seedlings

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Important Points for Your Musangu Tree Nursery
and Seedlings
The objective of planting Musangu in your farm
fields is to provide a free and reliable source
of nitrogen for maintaining high yields of crops.
By successfully planting Musangu trees, it is
possible to gain over K1,200,000 in additional
crop yield per lima per year with normal rainfall
once trees reach a suitable height in about 5
years. Such results depend on 1) well-managed
tree nursery, 2) proper seedling planting, and 3)
follow-up care of the seedling.

• Tree nursery management seedlings take about 2
  months to develop
• Ensure soils used for growing seeds in polybags
  are rich, loose, healthy soils to allow rapid
  root growth. It is recommended you use 3 parts
  agricultural soil, 1 part compost, and 1 part
  sand. This will enable the seedling to absorb
  more moisture and will promote good growth.
• Make sure your nursery is near your home to allow
  you to manage it more carefully and is protected
  from livestock or animals. Make sure there is a
  reliable supply of water nearby for watering.
  Planting soil should be moist. Light watering
  twice a day is recommended.
• Make sure seedlings get sunlight, but about 50
  shading is recommended and not full, direct
  sunlight throughout the day. With too much
  shade, the seedling will be weak. As the
  seedlings grow, more sunlight is recommended to
  prepare the seedlings for the harsher conditions
  when transplanted.
• Seedling planting at the beginning of the rainy
  season
• It is recommended that Musangu seedlings are not
  planted in maize fields, as the tall maize stalks
  will block out sunlight and increase mortality of
  seedlings. Preferably grow in a field of
  groundnuts or cowpeas or soybeans.
• When digging hole, place subsoil on top pot
  should be 5-10cm below surrounding ground level.
  Planting stations are 5 meters apart and 10
  meters between rows.
• Place pot/seedling in the middle of the hole,
  remove bag by cutting bottom first and then
  lengthwise with a knife but do not expose the
  roots to sunlight. Keep the plastic on while
  planting

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• Backfill soil, THEN pull plastic bag out.
• Eliminate air pockets by pressing soil around
  seedling.
• Leave a slight depression around the seedling to
  create a micro-catchment for rainwater
• Plant during early morning or late afternoon when
  cool, preferably in the late afternoon.
• Place an ample amount of mulch around the base of
  the seedlings and remove all weeds if any at time
  of planting

• Caring for seedling once planted
• It is important that roots are NOT exposed to
  direct sunlight during planting
• Water the seedlings as needed to ensure they do
  not dry out
• Keep the base of the seedlings free of weeds and
  keep the ground covered with mulch

Important Points for Your Gliricidia Tree Nursery
and Seedlings
Gliricidia is an excellent nitrogen fixer and
grows fast, but the seeds are often hard to find,
unlike Musangu seeds. Requirements for tree
nursery are similar to Musangu, except the size
of the polythene potting bag is smaller. Because
of the larger number of seedlings that need to be
planted in-between maize rows, the nursery will
be much larger than that for Musangu. As for
Musangu, it is necessary to keep the seedlings
protected from livestock, including
chickens. Seedling plantings are 60-90 cm apart
and rows of seedlings are spaced 3-4 meters
apart. Gliricidia needs 6-8 weeks before
transplanting and should not be more than 8 weeks
old or the seedlings become difficult to
transplant. In the last two weeks before they are
transplanted, the seedlings should be watered
less frequently and exposed to full sunlight.