Effects of some nitrogen-fixing plants on seedling growth of scotch pine

Abstract

Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients for plants, and some plants are involved in the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to organic form. These plants are capable of nitrogen fixing by bacteria in their roots and are important in alleviating nitrogen deficiency and improving soil. The objective of this research is to determine the growth differences in Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings grown together with some nitrogen-fixing species. The study was conducted in The Research and Application Greenhouse at Faculty of Forestry, Karadeniz Technical University. Alnus glutinosa, Robinia pseudoacacia and Vicia sativa were selected as nitrogen-fixing species. Seeds were sown, by different sowing combinations, in special sowing crates in November. For 1-year-old scotch pine seedlings after the first growing period, seedling length, root collar diameter and sturdiness quotient were determined. The results indicated that while the average length of Pinus sylvestris seedlings sown alone was 3.36 cm, the average length of the seedlings belonging to Pinus sylvestris+Vicia sativa combination reached 6.84 cm. Similarly, mean root collar diameter was 0.47 mm greater in the Pinus sylvestris+Vicia sativa sowing combination. The use of higher quality seedlings obtained through sowing combination of Pinus sylvestris+Vicia sativa can be advantageous in areas where there is a ground cover problem or the use of quality seedlings is required because of extreme conditions in terms of altitude, climate and soil.

Keywords

• nitrogen fixation
• sowing combination
• seedling morphology
• pinus sylvestris
• azot bağlama
• sarıçam
• kombine ekim
• fidan morfolojisi