Growing of the containerized seedlings of english oak (Quercus robur L.) to establish sustainable plantations on wooded and reclaimed lands

Abstract

The topical issues for elaboration of new approaches to grow English oak seedlings with the purpose to establish sustainable plantations on wooded and reclaimed lands are considered in the article. The goal of the research is to elaborate a technology for growing the containerized seedlings of English oak. An integrated assessment of the variants of the experiment (growing of seedlings in Hiko and Plantek containers with various volumes of cells) was made by a number of factors: а) plant growth intensity; b) number of seedlings from a unit of area; c) stability of rootball; d) cultivation cost for a plant; e) establishment of plants in the first and second years of growth on a site. Then by G. F. Lakin method, a distribution series was composed where the place of each variant of the experiment (cell volume) was matched to the indicator value. Depending on the place in the distribution series, each variant was given a certain point. The sum of points for each cell volume was divided into maximum possible point (number of indices, multiplied by number of variants) and obtained a weighted average point of the influence of cell volume on the final growth index in a greenhouse and on a site. Based on the research results, a new way of acorn sowing in the containers was offered. It is recommended that the acorns to be planted in a container with a pointed end up and to be embedded at a depth of 1.0 сm from the top of the substrate. It makes it possible to form physiologically active roots of the second and third orders from the top to the bottom of the container cell, to enhance the stability of rootball.