Abstract:

This study aimed to determine the suitable planting stock for successful carob afforestation. It investigated the effects of both undercutting and top pruning in bare-rooted seedlings and only top pruning in containerized seedlings. The study revealed the impact of these practices on the morphological characteristics of 1+0 seedlings in the nursery, as well as their survival and growth in the field. In addition, in the middle of November in both bare-rooted and containerized seedlings, the tops of seedlings were pruned at about 1/2 (severe) and 2/3 (mild) of the average height from the soil level. The seedlings, produced in three replications in the nursery, were planted in late February with four replications at a spacing of 2 x 2 m in the Akdam region of the Sumbas district in Osmaniye province. In the nursery, a “Completely Randomized Design” was utilized for producing containerized seedlings, while a “Split-Plots in Randomized Complete Block Design” was used for producing bare-rooted seedlings. In the field, a “Randomized Complete Block Design” was implemented. The nursery cultivation techniques applied to both bare-rooted and containerized seedlings had a statistically significant effect on the morphological characteristics of the seedlings in the nursery. However, at the end of the third growing season in the field, the treatments, except for the planting stock type, had a low effect, and they did not significantly improve the survival and growth of seedlings. The containerized seedlings exhibited higher survival rates, as well as greater height and root collar diameter growth compared to the bare-rooted seedlings.

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