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Where Trees “are born”

Foresters are accused of cutting down trees many times and hence, they will reduce the areas of our forests. However, this is not true in this form. The accusation is originated from insufficient knowledge the most probably, as a lot of people do not know the processes of silviculture, whose first step is the seed- and sapling cultivation. At Zalaerdő PLtd the Nursery Garden in Bajcsa, of the Nagykanizsa Forestry Company deals with this activity, where tree saplings are cultivated on a sixty-one-hectare area.

Mainly saplings of autochthonous species are cultivatedin the garden, which are needed by the silviculture companies. In the beginning 25 million saplings were cultivated in the nursery garden – because of the spread of the renewal technology with acorn-seeding – nowadays, this number has decreased to 10 million, but as for professional efforts 15 million have been set as a goal. 4-5 million out of 10 million saplings are used by forestry companies, 1-2 million pieces are sold, and several valuable saplings of Zala County are sold even in foreign countries; the others are usually left in the garden, this means they are planted out just the following year.

The history of the nursery garden began long decades ago. After the Second World War the increasing demand of afforestation forseed-multiplication substance was covered solely from small gardens.  Almost 150 nursery gardens operated in Zala County in 1960, 109 out of these were operated by the state forestry company. Their numbers decreased without electricity and watering possibilities, then, after several years, it was a necessity, to establish a modern, industrial nursery garden in the region. The predecessor of this garden worked on an area of 1.4 hectares, in fact in the 1950s, and then another nursery garden was established, a bit further from the previous one in the south, under the name of “Bajcsa-New” in 1964. This year is considered to be the establishment of the Nursery Garden in Bajcsa.

With the first technological development in 1970 the nursery garden was expanded with a drilled water well, a greenhouse, a Holland flower bed and with electricity, among other things, and it meant the establishment of the industrial sapling cultivation with European quality standards. The second technological development was encouraged by the idea, that Bajcsa should supply the entire forestry company, therefore, a work hall was built and machines were purchased. It was expanded to sixty hectares in 1980, and during the third technological development a refrigeration plant, a work hall, a loading hall, a closed storing room, some workshops, warehouses, a stokehole and a warehouse for chemicals were built; furthermore, the work could also bemade easier with the help of Czech and Austrian special nursery garden machinery. The big acorn storehouse belonged to the most important investments of the 2000s, where 70 tonnes of acorns can be stored after being harvested.  The internal pump system was exchanged five years ago; it was followed by different investments with the aim of automation and energetics.

Seedbed and school saplings of forestry, Christmas trees and ornamental plants are cultivated on the 61-hectare-area of the Nursery Garden in Bajcsa. 80 % of the saplings cultivated yearly are leafy species; there maining ones are fir species. Three quarters of the saplings are produced for partner forestry companies, the others are sold to different forestry companies, private forest owners, municipality government offices and to foreign customers.

For further information:

ZALAERDŐ PLtd. – Department of Silviculture
6. Múzeum Square, 8800 Nagykanizsa
Phone number: +3693500214, +36304742025
E-mail: erdogazdalkodas@zalaerdo.hu

Nursery Garden in Bajcsa
Törökvári Street, 8835 Nagykanizsa-Bajcsa
Phone number: +3693537742, +3693537743, +36303890922
E-mail: csemetekert.bajcsa@zalaerdo.hu