The aim of this study was to assess the effects on root deformations in Mediterranean cork oaks Quercus suber L. of container size and radicle length at the time of sowing. Acorns at five sowing methods – intact acorns, acorns that had germinated during storage, acorns that had germinated after moist stratification and acorns with radicles (R) less than 5 mm in length, 7 mm to 12 mm in length and more than 15 mm length – were planted individually in WM type containers of 400 cm3, 800 cm3 and 1,200 cm3. At the end of the nursery growth period, the roots of the 1,080 sampled seedlings were examined for root deformities. The experiment results showed that root deformation affected almost half (49%) of the container-grown cork oak seedlings and that the germination status of acorns at the time of planting had a significant effect on root deformations, whereas container volume had no clear effect. The largest number of deformed roots (91%) was observed in seedlings grown from germinated acorns, as compared to 9% of seedlings grown from intact acorns. Planting germinated acorns with radicles 15 < R < 20 mm and 7 < R < 12 mm in length produced the highest percentages of detrimental deformations. Irrespective of size, the bottomless WM container type was shown to be highly effective against the root spiralling frequently observed in closed cylindrical polyethylene bags. The results of this study could help to improve cork oak seedling quality for more successful reforestation programs.
This work consists on the study of the effects of some sowing methods of cork oak acorns on seedling performances. We studied the effects of acorns which germinated during storage, acorns which did not germinate during storage, acorns which germinated after moist stratification, arrangement of acorns in container and orientation of the radicle on seedling survival, growth and types of root deformations. To do so, a completely three-block randomized design was installed in nursery. After eight months of growth, the whole roots of the 1,166 seedlings which survived were visually inspected for eventual deformations. A sample of 25% of these seedlings was randomly selected to evaluate the effect of sowing methods on seedling growth. The data obtained shows that : 1) seedlings produced by germinated acorns and radicle directed downward grow better than seedlings supplied by intact acorns, 2) acorns germinated during storage provided nearly 36% of seedlings with deformed roots half with detrimental deformations, 3) acorns germinated after moist stratification provided 28% of seedlings with deformed roots dominated by sticks in the collar, and 4) intact acorns provided 20% of the seedlings with deformed roots but mainly no detrimental deformations.
RÉSUMÉ
Cet article présente les résultats d'un essai conduit au niveau de la pépinière expérimentale de l'INRF de Jijel visant la production et l'évaluation des caractéris-tiques agronomiques du compost d'Acacia cyanophyl-
The goal of this study was to assess the effects of seed weight and container capacity on cork oak seedling growth and attributes during nursery cultivation. Seedlings were grown from seeds of known weights sown in three WM type containers of 400cm3, 800cm3 and 1,200cm3 filled with a compost of Acacia cyanophylla Lindl. Seedling quality was evaluated through some growth parameters including seedling emergence time and percentage, seedling height and collar diameter, shoot and root dry weight measured on thirty seedlings per container type randomly selected after seedling emergence was completed. The results showed that seedling emergence and growth were rather influenced by container size than seed weight. The 1,200cm3 container had the highest values for all growth parameters throughout the nursery period while the 400cm3 had the smallest values ; the 800cm3 being intermediate. However, increasing container volume improved much more growth than quality in cork oak seedling. In fact, seedlings grown in large WM type container showed the highest growth values throughout the nursery period but, unluckily, not the best quality attributes. Thus, breeding of cork oak seedlings in containers up to 400cm3 in capacity will be justified only if planting stock produced in such a way will result in high quality seedlings with high outplanting success.
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