Abstract
Artificial forest regeneration can significantly help to increase the share of silver fir. The process starts with the collection and handling of cones and seeds. In this study, a way was sought to promote the emergence of fir seedlings and thus effectively use the seeds for growing planting stock. The seeds were stratified over 7 weeks at the temperature of 3°C. Hydroabsorbent was added to the substrate in order to increase its moisture content. Both substrate treatments with and without the amendment underwent following watering regimes: 0 – no irrigation, 1 – irrigation once a week, and 2 – irrigation twice a week. Prior to seeding, all treatments were wetted initially as 5 liters of water were poured into one box with the substrate. Then plant emerging rates were monitored weekly over 5 weeks. The positive effect of the added hydroabsorbent was found only in the treatment with initial wetting without additional irrigation. The highest seedling emergency rate was found in substrate without super-absorbent, which was irrigated once a week.
Publisher
Forestry and Game Management Research Institute