![]() ![]() Two years after planting, survival of small-acorn seedlings was 32% lower than the survival of medium- and large-acorn plants. Nursery fertilization slightly increased seedling growth for all acorn sizes it also strongly increased nutrient content, especially in small-acorn seedlings. Smaller acorns were associated with lower emergence and resulted in smaller seedlings that had lower nutrient content levels. Most acorn size variation occurred within trees rather than among trees. Small acorns represented 41% of the seed batch. Seedling emergence, nursery morphology and nutrient status, and outplanting survival and growth were measured. MethodsĪcorns of three size classes were used to cultivate seedlings with or without fertilization. ![]() To assess whether nursery fertilization interacts with Quercus variabilis acorn size to determine seedling morphology and nutrition in the nursery and outplanting performance. Nursery fertilization may compensate for the low quality of small-acorn seedlings. This can potentially reduce genetic diversity of plantations. Small acorns result in low-quality seedlings and so are usually discarded in artificial regeneration programs of oak species. Nursery fertilization partially offsets the negative effect of small acorns on seedling attributes in the nursery but not on outplanting performance. The use of small acorns will result in the production of a higher proportion of small seedlings containing low nutrient levels and having poor outplanting performance in oak container seedlings. This, however, can potentially reduce genetic diversity of plantations. Small acorns are usually discarded for seedling cultivation because they reduce plant quality. ![]()
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