A seedling leaves the nursery in the state the tray lets it leave in. If the plug comes out in one piece the plant goes into the field with its root system intact; if the medium crumbles, the plant spends its first weeks recovering. This tray is built around that moment. The cells taper towards the base and carry a drainage hole, so a plunger under the cell ejects the whole plug in one movement instead of a lever action that cracks the medium. It is moulded in food grade polypropylene and tolerates steam cleaning at 120 degrees Celsius, which is what allows reuse rather than disposal after a single season.
Trays are often bought as disposables and thrown away, and that habit is costly in a way that does not show on the tray invoice. It shows up as seedlings lost at transplanting and as freight paid on empty space. Both of those are settled by the design of the tray rather than the price of it.
The cells are tapered rather than straight-sided, with a drainage hole at the base, and both details serve the same end. A taper means the plug is narrower at the bottom and releases as soon as it starts to move, rather than being dragged down the full depth of the cell. The base hole lets a plunger or a dibber press the plug out from underneath, so the force goes through the medium instead of across it, and a plug that is pushed out straight keeps its root system whole. The alternatives, which are a squeeze or a lever, deform the plug and tear the fine roots at the cell wall. In a block of a few thousand plants that difference is measured in lost seedlings. The same thinking runs through the whole root control container range, and for growers working across several crops it sits alongside the shade net and planting bag ranges.
The tray is moulded in food grade polypropylene and takes steam cleaning at 120 degrees Celsius, which is the point at which reuse becomes practical: a tray that can be sterilised between crops does not carry damping off from one batch into the next. Under greenhouse conditions a tray used this way lasts about three seasons, so the cost per season falls to roughly a third of the purchase price before any seedling loss is counted. Where a tray is used once and discarded, the same money is spent three times and the waste has to be handled.
| Model | RC-021 |
| Material | Food grade polypropylene |
| Cells | 200 per tray as standard, custom 32 to 288 |
| Cell Shape | Square, tapered, with base drainage hole |
| Tray Shape | Square, stackable rim |
| Heat Resistance | Steam cleanable at 120 degrees Celsius |
| Season | Four seasons |
| Packing | PP bag or carton, nested for export |
Cell count is chosen by the crop and by how long the seedling stays in the tray. Vegetables such as tomato and pepper are usually started in a moderate count where the seedling has room to reach saleable size before it is transplanted; flower starts and short-cycle crops suit higher counts because they leave the tray sooner. Bulk orders accept any count from 32 to 288 per tray, and humidity domes can be supplied with the trays where germination needs to be held under cover. The raised rim lets trays stack without crushing the seedlings below, so a cart can carry around 50 trays at a time.
Empty trays nest inside one another, which cuts the shipping volume of a bulk order by about 60 per cent compared with trays shipped loose. For an order that is being moved any distance that is the difference between paying for trays and paying for air. Minimum order is 500 pieces with an FOB range of USD 0.8 to 1 per piece, samples are available at USD 10 per piece, and delivery runs about 15 days after deposit with L/C and T/T accepted. Trade coverage of how nurseries manage propagation, such as HortiDaily and FreshPlaza, is worth following if you are specifying for more than one crop.
How are the plugs removed?
The cells taper towards the base and carry a drainage hole, so a plunger or a dibber pushes each plug out from underneath in one movement. That keeps the root system intact rather than dragging it down the cell wall.
Can the trays be reused?
Yes. They are moulded in food grade polypropylene and tolerate steam cleaning at 120 degrees Celsius, which allows sterilising between batches. Under greenhouse conditions a tray lasts about three seasons.
Can I choose the cell count?
Yes. 200 cells is standard and bulk orders can be made in any count from 32 to 288, with humidity domes available where germination needs cover. Tell us the crop and the time in tray and we will confirm.
Tell us the crop, the cell count and the quantity, and we will confirm the tray size, the dome option and the packing that suit your order.
Mark Wu, Co-founder & Technical Director, Sichuan Zhifang Net Industry. 15 years manufacturing agricultural nettings and nursery containers for growers in 32 countries.
