Progress in Fishery Sciences (Dec 2023)
Effects of Different Cultivation Methods on Seedling Establishment and Physiology of the Eelgrass Zostera marina
Abstract
In this study, the effects of three cultivation methods (hydroponics germination promotion + germination insertion treatment, hydroponic germination promotion + germination post-insertion treatment, and substrate cultivation treatment) on seed germination, seedling establishment, and growth of Zostera marina were studied at 15 ℃, and the cultivation costs and physiological responses of Z. marina seedlings to different cultivation methods were analyzed. The experiment lasted for 42 days. The results revealed that there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in the seed germination rate and seedling establishment rate of Z. marina between treatments of hydroponic germination promotion + germination insertion and hydroponic germination promotion + germination post-insertion. The average of the two cultivation methods reached 54.8% and 46.5%, which were 1.3 and 1.6 times higher than those under the substrate cultivation treatment, respectively (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences (P < 0.05) in the growth indices of Z. marina seedlings between the two cultivation methods of hydroponic germination promotion + germination insertion and hydroponic germination promotion + hydroponic germination post-insertion, but the average were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those under the substrate cultivation treatment. Specifically, the average of root production rate was 1.6 times higher than that under the substrate cultivation treatment. Principal component analysis revealed that the physiological state of Z. marina seedlings was best under the hydroponics germination promotion + substrate implantation treatment. The contributions of the total nitrogen and soluble sugar contents were greater under the two treatments with an average of 16.6% and 15.0%, respectively, which were 1.2 times greater than those under the substrate cultivation treatment (P < 0.05). The analysis of cultivation costs showed that the treatment of germination promotion + germination post-insertion cultivation had the lowest cultivation costs (3.6 Yuan/plant), which was 81.9% of that under the treatment of germination promotion + germination insertion cultivation. The results showed that the hydroponic germination promotion + germination post-insertion treatment is a suitable method for cultivating Z. marina seedlings, mainly by enhancing the formation of nonstructural carbohydrates and increasing the photosynthetic pigment content of seedlings.
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