Amelioration of planting stress by soil amendment with a hydrogel–mycorrhiza mixture for early establishment of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seedlings

Table 1 Planting stock quality of beech after exposure of bare-rooted seedlings to air

Parameter	Time of air exposure before planting			P value
Parameter	0 h	2 h	6 h	P value
Shoot length (cm)	24.4 ± 4.0a	25.6 ± 5.5a	23.8 ± 5.0a	0.3804
Stem diameter (mm)	5.3 ± 0.8a	5.2 ± 0.9a	5.3 ± 0.5a	0.7850
Total fresh biomass (g plant⁻¹)	9.6 ± 3.8a	11.0 ± 4.0a	10.4 ± 3.1a	0.1475
No. of leaf buds on main shoot	16 ± 1.0a	16 ± 1.0a	16 + 1.0a	0.9604
Root/shoot ratio	1.6 ± 0.3a	1.51 ± 0.3a	1.39 ± 0.3a	0.1241
Whole plant weight loss (%)	0.0 ± 0.0a	14.8 ± 1.2b	19.5 ± 1.5	0.0000
AWC of buds (%)	59 ± 2c	49 ± 1b	41 ± 1a	0.0000
AWC of fine roots (%)	51 ± 3c	35 ± 2b	20 ± 5a	0.0005
Leaf bud soluble carbohydrates (μmol g⁻¹ DM)	478 ± 53a	437 ± 22a	443 ± 25a	0.6968
Fine root soluble carbohydrates (μmol g⁻¹ DM)	121 ± 13a	127 ± 12a	126 ± 13a	0.9405

Planting stress was imposed by exposing the bare-rooted seedlings to air for the indicated time periods. Biometric data are means of n = 10 (±SE). Carbohydrates were measured immediately after air exposure and determined as the sum of glucose, fructose, and sucrose. Glucose accounted 69% to 72% and 65% to 68% in buds and fine roots, respectively. Sucrose was not detected. Carbohydrate data show means of n = 5 (±SE). Different letters in rows indicate significant differences at P ≤ 0.05 (Tukey’s HSD test following ANOVA)

ISSN: 1297-966X