Effects of seed origin, growing medium and mini-plug density on early growth and quality of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia [L.]) seedlings

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The objective of this study was to identify optimal growing conditions for the production of high-quality mini-plug seedlings of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia [L.]). Two seed origins (Greek and Hungarian), two growing media (enriched peat and stabilized medium) and four mini-plug densities (975; 1,460; 1,820 and 3,500 mini-plugs·m -2 )were tested in two phases, in growth chambers and in a nursery after transplanting the mini-plugs into larger containers. Measurements included seedling survival, growth traits (root length, shoot height, leaf area, root dry mass, shoot dry mass, root/shoot ratio) and root growth potential (RGP). In addition, the ratio of variable to maximal fluorescence (F v /F m ) and the effective quantum yield of photosystem II (ΔF/F' m ) were measured. It was found that growing medium produced significant effects mainly in the first phase and seed origin in the second phase while mini-plug density was important in both phases. The F v /F m ratio was found to be significantly affected by growing medium while the effective quantum yield was influenced by density. Early survival of seedlings was closely correlated with fluorescence and growth traits (particularly with plant height) suggesting that these parameters might be useful for the grading of black locust seedlings prior to transplanting.

Using automated sanding to homogeneously break seed dormancy in black locust (Robinia pseudoacaciaL., Fabaceae)

“…To our knowledge, automatic sanding has never been tested on physically dormant seeds. A more rough sanding in a cement mixer or similar machine is generally proposed by forest managers in both the native and invasive ranges to treat tonnes of physically dormant seeds at a time (Argel and Paton, 1999; CRPF, 2007; Kimura and Islam, 2012); sandpaper scraping of black locust seeds has been mentioned but without indicating its efficiency (Morimoto et al ., 2010; Dini-Papanastasi et al ., 2012). However, since Fabaceae species are cropped for cattle or human food (Graham and Vance, 2003) with many species of this family presenting seeds with physical dormancy (Baskin et al ., 2000; Baskin and Baskin, 2004; Jayasuriya et al ., 2013), dormancy-breaking treatments of other Fabaceae species have been reported.…”

Efficient agroforestry system using fiber grow bag of medicinal plant, Asparagus cochinchinensis (Lour.) Merr

“…The Fv/Fm value measured in scotopic leaves represents the photosynthetic efficiency of PSII, which means the maximum photosynthetic potential of plant leaves (Dini-Papanastasi et al, 2012). Fv/Fm is typically between 0.75 and 0.85 for healthy plants, below which the plant is considered stressed (Baker and Oxborough, 2004;Johnson et al, 1993).…”

From Seed to Seedling: Influence of Seed Geographic Provenance and Germination Treatments on Reproductive Material Represented by Seedlings of Robinia pseudoacacia

“…The height of the seedlings in the last year of investigation was statistically inferior in Bistrit , a-Năsăud provenance. The small height compared with the other provenances may have been due either to consanguinity among the seedlings, or could have been influenced by the origin of the seeds, which may have been collected from other trees that were not correctly selected or were genetically debilitated [49][50][51].…”