Effects of soil compaction and water stress on growth and root development of Olea europaea L. at glasshouse

Document Type : Research article

Author

Scientific Board Member, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Tehran, I.R. Iran.

Abstract

The aim of the trial was to investigate the effects of soil compaction and water stress on olive seedling growth and root development. The trial was carried out under pot and glasshouse condition in 2001 at the NationalBotanical Garden, Tehran. The experimental design was Factorial under completely randomized plots with two factors (compaction and irrigation treatments), two levels and three replicates. There were three pots in each plot. The pots were filled with compacted soil (sandy clay loam) up to 50 cm height at one of the levels (bulk densities of 1.3 [low] and 1.6 [high] g/cm3). Seed propagated seedlings were transplanted into the pots and irrigated under one of the period intervals (three [wet] and six [dry] days). The seedlings were harvested in summer 2002 and their survival and canopy and root parameters, including height, shoot dry weight, root length and root dry weight were measured. The data were analyzed using SPSS Microsoft program and ANOVA and T-test methods.
Only compaction had significant effects on root parameters. The high level of compaction not only had negative effects on root development, but it increased root length and dry weight significantly. It could be concluded that although both the compaction and drought stresses did not significantly influence survival, but they significantly affected root development
 

Keywords


 
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