Influence of pot design and microbial bioinoculants on early growth of pecan (Carya illinoinensis) seedlings

Abstract

The process of growth from seed to grafting takes a long time in traditional seedling production in pecan. In addition, pecan orchards are currently established with bare roots, which reduces the planting interval while establishing an orchard. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of microbial fertilizers (Vitormone and Megaflu), mycorrhiza (truffle) alone or in combination with two different pot types (standard and air pruned) on the development of seedlings in pecan cultivar ‘Wichita’. A mixture of peat, perlite and vermiculite was used as a substrate. After the transfer of the seedlings to the pot, microbial fertilizers and mycorrhiza were applied once a week through a drip irrigation system for 5 weeks. Stem diameter, stem length, number of leaves, plant internode distance, fresh and dry weights of above and below ground parts were measured during the seedling growing stage. The results showed that the use of Vitormone + truffle combination significantly enhanced growth, producing the highest stem diameter (5.46 mm), stem length (37.16 cm), internode distance (2.41 cm), and leaf number (15.57), compared to the control (4.43 mm, 22.75 cm, 1.80 cm, and 12.54, respectively. Plants grown in standard pots exhibited greater stem diameter (4.90 mm), longer stem length (28.51 cm), and higher root dry weight (3.71 g) compared to those grown in air-pruned pots (4.71 mm, 26.67 cm, and 2.89 g, respectively) At the end of the experiment, the combination of Vitormone with mycorrhiza at a rate of 10% in standard pots was recommended for pecan seedling production.

Keywords

• Biostimulants
• Airpruned
• Mycorrhiza
• Seedling vigor
• Seedling production

References

1. Akgün A (2003) Bazı mikoriza türlerinin farklı antepfıstığı anaçlarının kök ve gövde gelişimi üzerine etkileri. Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Kahramanmaraş.
2. Benucci GMN, Bonito G, Falini LB, Donnini D (2012) Mycorrhizal inoculation and microbial fertilizers enhance pecan root development. Mycorrhiza 22: 383-393.
3. Bertora C, Bragazza L, Camin F, Fornasier F, Losacco D, Marzaioli F, Perego A, Piccolo MC, Ventura M (2019) Aboveground plant biomass measurement protocols. ClimEx Handbook, University of Bergen, Norway. Available at: https://climexhandbook.w.uib.no.
4. Casales FG, Van der Watt E, Coetzer GM (2018) Propagation of pecan (Carya illinoensis): A review. African Journal of Biotechnology 17(18): 586-605.
5. Chen Y, Mei R, Lu S, Liu L, Kloepper JW (1996) The use of yield increasing bacteria (YIB) as Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria in Chinese Agriculture. Management of soil born diseases, RS Utkhede and VK Gupta ed. Kalyani publishers, Ludhiada, New delhi 15(2): 87-103.
6. Cigsar I, Yilmaz MA (2000) Detection of grapevine viruses by serological methods in south-east Anatolia. In: Symons RH (ed) Extended Abstracts 13th Meeting ICVG, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia, pp. 143.
7. Conner P (2007) Effect of nitrogen fertigation on first-year pecan seedling growth. HortTechnology 17(4): 491-495.
8. Conner P (2011) The Pecan: America’s Native Nut Tree. Hortscience 46(3): 340-345.

9. Elsysy MM, Khalil AM, Salem AH, Hassan MA (2022) Hormonal regulation of root development by mycorrhizal fungi: auxins, cytokinins, and strigolactones in focus. Rhizosphere 22: 100531.
10. FAOSTAT (2020) FAOSTAT statistical database. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Available at: http://www.fao.org/faostat.
11. Ferrara G, Matarrese AMS, Losciale P, Montanaro G, Dichio B (2023) Evaluation of pecan (Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch) for possible cultivation in Southern Italy. Horticulturae 9(2): 261.
12. Ferrini F, Nicese FP, Mancuso S, Giuntoli A (2000) Effect of nursery production method and planting techniques on tree establishment in urban sites: preliminary results. Journal Arboriculture 26(5): 281-283.
13. Furlani PR, Zanetti M, Bataglia OC (2009) Citrus nursery production in soilless. Acta Horticulture. (ISHS) 843: 255-260.
14. Gilman EF, Beeson Jr RC (1996) Nursery production method affects root growth. Journal of Environmental Horticulture 14: 88-91.
15. Gutjahr C, Paszkowski U (2013) Multiple control levels of root system remodeling in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Frontiers in Plant Science 4: 204.
16. Hu J, Li G, Mo H, Lv Y, Qian T, Chen M, Lu S (2023) Crop node detection and internode length estimation using an improved YOLOv5 model. Agriculture 13(2): 473.
17. Levy Y, Dodd JC, Krikun J (1983) Effect of irrigation, water salinity and rootstock on the vertical distribution of vasicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza in citrus roots. New Phytologist 95: 397-403.
18. Mathers HM, Lowe SB, Scagel C, Struve DK, Case LT (2007) Abiotic factors influencing root growth of woody nursery plants in containers. HortTechnology 17(2): 151-162.
19. Matsubara Y, Harada T, Yakuwa T (1994) Effect of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi ınoculation on seedling growth in several species of vegetable crops. Journal of the Japanese Society for Horticultural Science 63(3): 619-628.
20. Ortakçı D (1999) Değişik Mikoriza Türlerinin Turunç Bitkisinde Fosfor ve Çinko Alımına Olan Etkilerinin Araştırılması. Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Çukurova Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Adana.
21. Ortaş I, Gök G, Çakmak İ, İbrikçi H, Gür K, Torun T, Onaç I, Ergün B, Çoşkan A (1998) Effect of VA-Maycorrhizae İnoculation and Phosphorus Application on Maize Growth and Mycorrhizal Infection of Maize. In: M. Şefik Yeşilsoy International Symposium on Arid Region Soil. Menemen, İzmir, Türkiye, pp. 229-235.
22. Ozkan G, Demir S, Tüfenkçi Ş (2004) The effects of mycorrhizae and phosphorus fertilization on plant growth. Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry 28: 129-137.
23. Pokomy FA, Sparks D (1967) Studies of air-layering pecans: Effect of date of propagation, wounding, in indol-3-butyric acid on rooting of air-layered pecan terminals, Carya illinoensis. HortScience 2: 1-2.
24. Pulatkan M, Var M (2010) Ormancılık ve peyzaj mimarlığında mikoriza aşılı fidanların kullanımı ve faydaları. III. Ulusal Karadeniz Ormancılık Kongresi Cilt IV pp. 1431-1438.
25. Reddy B, Bagyaraj DJ, Mallesha BC (1996) Selection of efficient VA mycorrhizal fungi foracid lime. Indian Journal of Microbiology 36(1): 13-16.
26. Silva LS, Pereira AR, Monteiro FL, Gomes RT, Carvalho JF (2023a) Effects of microbial inoculants on root biomass allocation and growth performance in tree seedlings. Plant and Soil 485: 233-247.
27. Silva TRB, Cordeiro D, de Souza Leite R, Assis GA, de Oliveira MTA, Souza FBM, Nogueira RJMC (2023b) Growth of pecan rootstocks with the use of liquid humus in an organic production system. Comunicata Scientiae 14: e3957.
28. Smith SE, Read DJ (2008) Mycorrhizal Symbiosis. 3rd edn. Academic Press, London.
29. Sparks D (1992) Pecan cultivars: The orchard’s foundation. Watkinsville, GA: Pecan Production Innovations.
30. Splivallo R, Fischer U, Göbel C, Feussner I, Karlovsky P (2009) Truffles regulate plant root morphogenesis via the production of auxin and ethylene. Plant physiology 150(4): 2018-29.
31. Ucgun K, Atasay A, Akgül H, Ay Z, Küçükyumuk Z, Koçal H, Bakıcı S, Kaymak S, Özongun Ş, Gargın S, Akpınar Ç (2009) MM 106 Elma klon anacında mikoriza uygulamalarının bitki gelişimine etkileri. Tarım Bilimleri Araştırma Dergisi 2(2): 187-192.
32. Üstüner Ö (2001) Değişik harç ortamlarında mikoriza türlerinin turunç bitkisinin büyüme ve kök gelişimine etkisinin araştırılması. Yüksek Lisans Tezi. Çukurova Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Adana.
33. Wang J, Zhou G, Xu X, Yang Z (2022) A general model for estimating above- and below-ground biomass in grassland ecosystems. Scientific Reports 12: 11394. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-11394-3.
34. Wood BW, Worley RE, Mullinix BG (1994) Pecan Production in the United States. HortTechnology 4(4): 367-372.
35. Wood BW (1996) Establishing pecan transplants. HortTechnology 6(3): 276-279.
36. Woodroof JG (1934) Pecan root growth and development. Journal of Agriculture 49(6): 511-530.
37. Zhang R, Peng FR, Yan P, Cao F, Liu ZZ, Le DL, Tan PP (2015) Effects of root pruning on germinated pecan seedlings. HortScience 50(10): 1549-1552.
38. Zhang S, Reddy MS, Kloepper JW (2004) Tobacco growth enhancement and blue mold disease protection by rhizobacteria: Relationship between plant growth promotion and systemic disease protection by PGPR strain 90-166. Plant and Soil 262: 277-288.