Strategies for Decreasing Leaf Fall and Early Chlorosis of Plane Trees (Platanus Orientalis) in Mahallat City

Plane tree (Platanus orientalis) is one of the most common trees in urban landscape due to its relatively rapid growth and an appropriate crown, thus it is favored by many landscape designers. In the recent years, chlorosis and early twigs dieback has been a serious problem in some parts of Iran and also the world. In these research field observations in some urban areas of Mahallat city was carried out in order to analyse the plant and soil samples of diseased trees. The results were compared with non diseased trees (as control) by T-Test method. Results showed that diseased trees have less nitrogen, phosphorus and boron compared with non diseased trees, which can be related with the drought stress and imbalance of nutrients. Meanwhile it is possible that salt application for melting of winter ices, has led to increased salinity and activity of lime in the soil and consequently has damageedthe trees. Therefore, it is recommended to estabelish suitable bed by optimizing irrigation and avoids soil salinization.