Original scientific paper
Container Size Impact on Quantitative Morphological Parameters of One Year Old Aleppo Pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) Seedlings
Goran Jelić
; Institut za jadranske kulture i melioraciju krša, Split, Hrvatska
Vlado Topić
; Institut za jadranske kulture i melioraciju krša, Split, Hrvatska
Lukrecija Butorac
; Institut za jadranske kulture i melioraciju krša, Split, Hrvatska
Anamarija Jazbec
; Šumarski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
For successful afforestation in Mediterranean karst areas several important criteria must be fulfilled, especially adequate tree species selection and high-quality seedlings.Considering above mentioned conditions, morphological features of one-year old Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) seedlings were analyzed. Seedlings were grown in diff erent types of containers to establish the effect of container type on development (quality) of above- and belowground parts of the seedlings. Four types of containers were used: MP53/12, MP33/18, T7/24 and T8/24. Studied seedling variables (morphological features) include: seedling height, root collar diameter, biomass of the aboveground part of the seedlings and total seedling biomass. Two morphological indexes were calculated from measured variables: S/R ratio and DQI. Morphological dimensions of root systems (total root length, number of root tips, surface area and root volume) were scanned with ST 1600 scanner and measured with WinRhizo Pro software. Morphological features with regard to container type were evaluated with analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple Turkey’s post hoc test.
Morphological features of seedlings derived from the samples of 20 seedlings per container type, mostly showed significantly higher values in larger containers (T7/24 and T8/24) compared to smaller containers (MP53/12 and MP33/18). Root analyses also showed that roots of seedlings from smallest containers (MP53/12) were deformed to a high degree. In larger containers (MP33/18) root deformation was largely reduced. On the other hand, bind of roots into growing medium in seedlings grown in large containers was insuffi cient, although the roots were not deformed.
Seedlings of Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) grown in container MP53/12 have developed highly deformed root systems because of inadequate dimensions of this container and its technological absoluteness. Therefore is recommended to gradually abandon the use of MP53/12 and MP33/18 containers from nursery production. Further research is needed to eventually define new, modern solutions adapted to production of high-quality seedlings for aff orestation of Mediterranean karst area.
Keywords
Aleppo pine; containers; morphological features; seedlings
Hrčak ID:
305395
URI
Publication date:
1.7.2019.
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