Soil is prepared in the nursery using a 2:1 mixture of earth and guano.
Unperforated plastic bags, 12 cm in diameter and 30 cm long, are filled with this mixture and placed in a carefully-levelled planting bed. They are then watered to saturation.
Three to five seeds are sown at a depth of 1.5 cm. They must first be treated with sulphuric acid for 7 minutes, then thoroughly washed and left to dry in the shade.
Initial watering depends on soil and climate. It is important to keep the surface, where the seeds are planted, wet but not to accumulate water in the bottom of the bags, as this would encourage fungus growth. It is best to treat the soil with fungicide before sowing to avoid attacks of fungus.
Once the seeds have germinated, more water is given but at greater intervals, to ensure a supply of moisture to the downward-growing roots. The excessive use of water should be avoided.
The seedlings stay in the nursery for 3 to 5 months, until they reach a height of 8 to 10 cm. Care should be taken to ensure that the roots do not pierce the plastic.
Plantation spacings in the Tamarugal Pampa are at 10 × 10 m and 15 × 15 m, taking into consideration the tree's growth and its function as fodder. A pit is dug in the ground and in it a hole is made 20 cm in diameter and 50 cm deep, which is abundantly manured with guano. The depth of the pit depends on the terrain; it is usually 80 cm in diameter by 30–70 cm deep, but may vary according to the depth of the salt crust which must be penetrated before making the planting hole.
Before planting, the hole is watered so as to saturate the soil as far down as possible.
The bottom of the plastic bags are split at planting so that the roots can pass through.
The plastic bags must be removed with great care to avoid breaking the cylinder of earth as this would damage the root and result in loss of the plant.
The frequency with which the plants are watered depends on soil and climate. There must be enough water to penetrate to the roots and keep them moist.
The plants are established when they send out new shoots. When this occurs, watering can be spaced at intervals of 20 days, though care should be taken to ensure that the water penetrates properly. If there is moisture in the subsoil, it is advisable to determine whether the roots have reached it by suspending watering and observing the reaction of the plants.
The above information is general, since the timing and amounts of water to be administered, proportion of earth to guano, depth of the pit, and so forth, will vary with soil and climate. This is why the seedlings must be observed very closely to match these operations to the specific ecological conditions of the site.
It is most important to avoid excess watering, which shows up at the first stages of the seedlings as a “fall” due to fungi, and later as a yellowing of the leaves.
