Publication Date:
1992-07-01
Description:
Jack pine (Pinusbanksiana Lamb.) seedlings were grown in paperpots filled with 26 different horticultural peat moss substrates to evaluate conventional laboratory indices for characterizing container growing media. Seedling growth performance varied on the different substrates; dry weight differed 52% and height at harvest differed 37% between the best and poorest yielding peat. Precultural physical and chemical properties of the growing media varied widely, but correlated weakly with growth and nutrient composition of the seedlings, suggesting that conventional laboratory indices were not sensitive enough to predict peat suitability for jack pine culture. Height growth was significantly related to nutrient composition of the seedlings; however, correlations were low when tested against initial measures of peat nutrient status. Foliar vector diagnoses of both high- and low-yield plants identified N and P as the primary and secondary nutritional constraints upon growth, respectively. Since plants received a common fertilizer regime, seedling development may be more closely associated with specific fertilizer–substrate interactions rather than conventional precultural test measures. Further research is needed to develop quality indices more sensitive to potential nutrient supply and fertilizer reactions in container rooting media.
Print ISSN:
0045-5067
Electronic ISSN:
1208-6037
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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