Growth of Schrenk’s Spruce (Picea schrenkiana) Seedlings Related to the Pre-Sowing Stimulating Seed Treatment

Abstract

The uniqueness of the biological properties and the occurrence in nature of the Schrenk’s Spruce (Picea schrenkiana Fisch. & C.A. Mey.), its great forestry significance, and important eco-stabilizing functions of its stands in the Northern Tian Shan are of great interest to a wide range of researchers in many countries. However, many characteristics of this endemic species have been poorly studied so far, and information on the effectiveness of its introduction is extremely limited. We investigated the characteristics of growth and development of spruce seedlings in the conditions of the Nizhny Novgorod region. The seeds were harvested in natural plantations on the territory of the Almaty State Nature Reserve, which is located in the Central part of the Trans-Ili Alatau in South-Eastern Kazakhstan. They were sown in an open ground nursery under stimulating treatment with the following bioactive stimulants: siliplant, ferovit, ecofus, kornevin, heteroauxin, zircon, extrasol, epin, and albit. The soaking of all the seeds in water at the same exposure for 24 h served as control. The aftereffect of bioactive substances in the pre-sowing stimulating treatment of Shrenk’s spruce seeds was found to activate the growth processes of the aboveground part of its seedlings during the introduction into the Nizhny Novgorod region. It was found that the biennial part of seedlings axial shoot had unequal length in different experimental options. The highest values were achieved in the variants with the use of the following stimulants: ferovit (5.95±0.02 cm), heteroauxin (5.62±0.16 cm), ecofus (5.47±0.32 cm), and albit (5.49±0.015 cm). The generalized value was 5.08±0.07 cm. The growth characteristics of seedlings also respond to the stimulating effect. The best results in this case were shown by ferovit (2.25±0.023 cm) and heteroauxin (1.96±0.17 cm). The differences in the number of side shoots are less contrasting. However, we can also see the previously noted trends: ferovit (1.42±0.25 pcs); heteroauxin (1.34±0.19 pcs); and albit (1.31±0.19 pcs). We obtained the certificate of sufficient resource of natural conditions of the region for seed breeding of Schrenk’s spruce in the open ground and the significant potential of its introduction to the Nizhny Novgorod region.