Effects of soil moisture conservation treatments on the early establishment of Ferula foetida seedlings

Ferula foetida is one of the important medicinal plants in the steppe rangelands of Iran. Applying effective methods for its establishment can be useful for reviving the ecosystems of arid areas and the economy of its indigenous people. Due to the fact that drought stress is one of the main limitations in the establishment of plants in arid and semi-arid regions, in this study the effects of various treatments were studied on seed germination and establishment of Ferula foetida seedlings, in the Kakhk Twin Watersheds, located in the south of Khorasan Razavi province, Gonabad city. Experiment included some soil moisture conservation treatments (stone shelter, superabsorbent, superabsorbent + stone shelter or control) and seed treatments (prechilling or control), with 30 replicates for each treatment. Superabsorbent + sand shelters and sand shelters alone, reduced temperature and increased soil moisture. Moisture conservation treatments led to higher number of seedling emergence and survival and higher seedling height than those of control. Among the moisture conservation treatments, superabsorbent + stone shelter performed better, especially for the prechilled seedlings. According to the our results, superabsorbents and stone shelters can improve the production and productivity of Ferula foetida, especially during the drought times. We also suggest prechilling treatments to overcome the dormancy of Ferula foetida seeds.