Özet:

Seedling quality is of great importance for the success of the plantation efforts. For the seedling quality, one of the influential factors is the maintenance of seedling density on seedbeds. This study was carried out to find out the effect of seedling density on the planting success of Taurus cedar seedling. The seeds, collected from Isparta-Kapidag provenance, were sown in the seedbeds with 15 cm spacing of 7 lines in Eskisehir Forest Nursery in 2015. The seeds grown with 1.5 (control), 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0 cm spacings were uprooted when they were 2+0-year-old, planting with 3×2 m spacing in two areas with climates of semi-arid and semi-humid in Eskisehir-Mihaliccik region. The randomized parcel design was established with 3 replications in the study. After planting, survival percentage, as well as the seedling height and root collar diameter, were measured at the end of the first, the second, and the third growing periods. Besides, relative diameter and height increment of the seedlings were calculated. Data were evaluated by analysis of variance and Duncan’s test. No significant difference was determined among the survival percentage of the seedlings grown at different densities. However, the growth of seedling height and root collar diameter and the relative increments of height and diameter were significantly different among the seedlings grown with different densities. In general, diameter and height growths increased with a decrease in seedling density while relative increments of diameter and height decreased. Considering the data obtained, the necessity of producing more seedlings suitable for planting per unit area in nurseries, and the height differences at the end of the 3rd development period, growing of Taurus cedar seedlings with 15.0×2.5 cm spacings (232 seedlings per m2) in the nurseries for semi-arid regions can be suggested.