Studying the nutritional content in graded Oak seedlings (Quercus castaneifolia)

The production of good quality seedlings and increased performance are essential to the success of any plantation program. In order to develop a mechanism to evaluate the quality of nursery seedlings prior to planting in the field, production of good quality seedlings in nursery has important role in successful reforestation projects. Seedling sizes and nutrition status are two important factors in good quality seedlings. For these reasons, in this study nutrient concentration and content of nitrogen, phosphorous, calcium and potassium in roots and leaves of graded Oak seedlings (small, medium and large) sampled in two-stage sampling at the end of the first growing season (early September 2010 and late February 2011) were measured. The aim of this study is to know different levels of these nutrients in graded seedlings. The results showed there was not significant difference between nutrients in leaves and roots of graded seedlings in September and February, respectively. But higher seedlings had higher nutrient concentration rather than the smaller ones in February thanks to having more ability for absorption of nutrients .The content of nutrients in big and medium seedlings is more than small-sized ones.