Building Efficiency into Every Part of Nursery Production

At a glance

Challenge
Improve efficiency across nursery production while maintaining close control of crop conditions and plant quality.

Approach
Mechanize repeatable processes, use sensors and monitoring to support decisions, and simplify crop management where possible.

Impact
Greater control over irrigation, agronomy and day-to-day operations, with fewer interventions needed in areas such as plant nutrition.

Plant nutrition
Osmocote 5 is used as 100% controlled-release base nutrition, covering the crop’s nutritional needs without additional topdressing.

Perspective
Moreno Pinto, Owner at Vivai De Laurentiis, Abruzzo, Italy.

Improve the process, not just the technology

Vivai De Laurentiis has been growing ornamental plants since 1929. But for Moreno, long experience is not a reason to keep doing things in the same way. Changes in crops, agronomy and day-to-day nursery work have made continuous improvement increasingly important. “For us, innovation is something we simply cannot do without.”

From the beginning of his career in the family business, Moreno visited nursery regions across Europe specifically to see how other growers worked and identify what could be improved at home. The result has been a deliberate move toward mechanizing as many production processes as possible, from agronomic operations and irrigation to weather sensors and management control.

For growers, the principle is simple: look first at which recurring operations can become more consistent, efficient or easier to manage.

Simplify where the crop allows it

Plant nutrition fits into the same approach. According to ICL Technical Manager Paolo Cozzi, Vivai De Laurentiis uses Osmocote 5 as 100% controlled-release base nutrition. The programme is designed to cover the nutritional needs of the plants throughout the crop cycle, without additional topdressing. That removes an extra intervention later in production while maintaining a consistent nutritional supply. The broader takeaway is not simply to eliminate applications. It is to identify where the production system can be simplified without compromising what the crop needs. This is also how Moreno approaches automation. Technology should take over repeatable processes, but crop knowledge remains essential.

Keep monitoring what happens in the crop

Despite the increasing level of automation, Moreno still starts his working day by walking through the nursery. “My day starts very early. I go around the nursery, not only to meet the different colleagues, but also to check the agronomic conditions.”

Sensors provide information on weather and production conditions, but they do not replace direct observation. That combination,automation for consistency and monitoring for control, is central to how Vivai De Laurentiis operates. Moreno describes the changes introduced across the nursery: “We mechanized as many company processes as possible,  agronomy, irrigation, company automation, meteorological sensors and management control, while also improving working conditions for our employees.”

For other growers, three practical principles stand out:

• Look beyond your own nursery: seeing how others work can reveal opportunities to improve established processes.
• Automate repeatable operations: use technology where it creates greater consistency or efficiency.
• Stay close to the crop: sensors and automation support decisions, but regular crop observation remains essential.

The objective is not innovation for its own sake. It is a production system that is easier to control, more efficient to operate and still centered on what the plant needs.

About Vivai De Laurentiis

Vivai De Laurentiis is a family-owned ornamental nursery in Abruzzo, Italy, founded in 1929 by Moreno’s grandfather, Francesco De Laurentiis. Now approaching its fourth generation, the company combines long-standing nursery experience with increasingly automated agronomic, irrigation and monitoring systems.

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