Effect of Phosphorus and Water Stress on Growth, some Water Relations and Plant Nutrient Concentration of Pistachio Seedlings in Greenhouse Conditions

To study the effects of soil phosphorus (P) application on growth and water relations and nutrient concentration of pistachio seedlings (Badami-e-Zarand) under water stress, a greenhouse experiment was conducted. Treatments were arranged in a factorial manner as a completely randomized design with three replications. Treatments consisted of six P levels (0, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 mg P Kg-1 soil as H3PO4) and three irrigation intervals (2, 4 and 8 days). Results showed that as water stress increased, growth parameters significantly decreased. As irrigation interval was increased to 8 days, shoot and root dry weights, shoot/root ratio, leaf area and leaf number and stem height decreased. Photosynthesis parameters were significantly decreased by increasing water stress. Also, P and Zn concentrations decreased as irrigation interval increased. Analysis of variance indicated that P application had no significant effect on growth parameters, transpiration rate and photosynthesis. It seems that Olsen extractable P (5.35 mg kg-1 soil) was sufficient for optimum growth of pistachio seedlings and thus, no growth responses were observed from P application in this experiment. Application of phosphorus significantly increased P and decreased Zn concentrations.