Effect of sowing date, irrigation and weed control on biomass, ratio of shoot/root length and vitality rate of seedling Cupressus arizonica in nursery

Document Type : Research Paper

Abstract

Cupressus arizonica is one of the most important species in forest plantation in degraded ecosystems and urban and suburb areas ofIran due to low ecological demands and tolerance against winter drought and summer heat. This research was done to determine the best time of sowing and to study the effects of irrigation and weeding in growth and shoot/root length and the percentage of seedling vitality in Zaghe nursery, Khoramabad. It was performed as complete randomized block and factorial design with three treatments; sowing date (autumn and winter), irrigation periods ( 2 and 4 days) and weed mechanical control ( 7 and 14 days) and four replications for 15 vases in each replication. At the end of the first growing season, biomass, shoot/root length and vitality rate were measured. The results showed the effects of weed control on biomass were significant and sowing date and irrigation were not. The effects of sowing date and composition of treatments on shoot/root length were significant. The maximum amount of shoot/root length was seen at autumn date and composition of treatments (autumn date, 4-days irrigation and 14-days weed control). The effects of mentioned treatments on vitality rate were significant and its maximum was observed in autumn sowing, 2-days irrigation and 7-days weeding. It is suggested for decreasing the cost of seedlings production in nursery, weed control should be done in long time and autumn sowing can be replaced with winter sowing for better organization.

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