Investigation on effect of sowing depth and seed cover on seedling establishment of Quercus brantii Lindl. at Fars province

In order to identify the best sowing depth and seed cover of Quercus brantii Lindl., a trial was conducted at Kamfirouz Oak Experimental Station in Fars province of Iran at two year period, using Factorial statistical method and experimental design of Randomized Complete Blocks at four replicates. The first factor was depth of seed sowing at six levels (0.0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 12.5 cm) and the second factor was seed cover at three levels (ordinary forest soil or control treatment, mixture of ordinary soil and 20% manure, and mixture of ordinary soil and 50% manure). The measured characteristics of established oak seedlings consisted of: survival, root and shoot length and shoot and root wet and dry weight. Data analysis was performed, using Variance Analysis and Duncan test and applying SAS software. The results showed that effects of year, seed cover and sowing depth on survival were significant (p< 0.01). Average seedling survival at first and second year of trial was 32.7 and 40.5 %, respectively. Increased amount of manure in seed cover material increased survival significantly and it increased from 33.8 % in ordinary soil to 40.7 % in soil and 50 % manure mixture. Greatest percentage of survival at 2.5, 5.5 and 7.5 cm sowing depth was 47.7, 49.3 and 51.6 cm, respectively, whereas the lowest rate (10.1 %) belonged to zero sowing depth. Overall, the highest rate of shoot length, root length, shoot dry weight and root dry weight were 11.8 cm, 80.3 cm, 4.8 g and 3.4 g, respectively.