Abstract:

Anatolian black pine (Pinus nigra subsp. caramanica (Loudon) Businský) is the most preferred species in the afforestation of semi-arid and anthropogenic steppe areas of Inner Anatolia thanks to its thrifty and resistance to extreme conditions. However, the fact that the stages of seedling development have not been determined in the ecological conditions of the nursery where mass seedling production is carried out may create uncertainty in the calendar of applied cultural operations. In this research conducted on 2+0 aged containerised Anatolian black pine seedlings originating from Çankırı-İsmetpaşa under the ecological conditions of Çankırı forest nursery; i)Periodic changes in morphological and physiological seedling characteristics, ii)Morphological seedling characteristics and their compliance with Turkish Standards by the end of the second vegetation period, iii)Determine the seedling growth stage for the second vegetation period have been aimed. As a result of this research; seedlings height (SH), root collar diameter (RCD), stem fresh weight (SFW), root fresh weight (RFW), the fresh total weight of the seedlings (STFW), the stem dry weight (SDW), root dry weight (RDW), seedling total dry weight (STDW), the ratio of the stem dry weight to root dry weight (KI), the ratio of seedling height to root collar diameter (GI), dry root percentage (DRP%) and Dickson quality index (DQI), it has been determined mean and standard error as follows; 14.11±0.2 cm, 4.79±0.06 mm, 7.89±0.33 g, 7.6±0.26 g, 15.49±0.37 g, 3.62±0.23 g, 3.42±0.23 g, 7.05±0.29 g, 1.08±0.08, 20.45±0.05, %48.74±1.76 and 0.55±0.1 respectively. From March 15th to April 15th is “exit of dormant”; from May 15th to August 15th is “growing+fast growing”; and from September 15th to October 15th has been determined as the “lignification stage” as the stages of seedling growth. The lowest values in terms of pre-dawn water potential (Ψpd-1.38±0.203 MPa) in August were determined. The photosynthesis efficiency values were determined in March with the lowest 0.63 and in October with the highest value of 0.92. It has been concluded that the seedlings comply with TSE 2265/February 1988 standards with largely, and that they are at appropriate standards for planting in semi-arid regions, particularly in the seedlings root characteristics.

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