Water moves through three distinct areas of a nursery:

  • The water source
  • The production area, and
  • The drainage system

Consider all areas of the nursery when developing your water management plan.

Four ways to manage water at the nursery and discourage Phytophthora disease are:

  • Use a water source free of Phytophthora.
  • Avoid prolonged periods of leaf wetness and saturated soil.
  • Evaluate your irrigation guidelines. For example, if you apply the same amount of water in hot and cold weather, plants likely are getting too much water in cold weather.
  • Prevent standing water in production areas, and improve root-zone drainage.

We will discuss all these in detail in the following sections.