Compost-Containing Substrates and Their Effect on Posttransplant Growth of Containerized Tree Seedlings

Bruce R. Roberts

doi:10.48044/jauf.2006.037

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Table 1.

Chemical and physical properties of media used to grow containerized tree seedlings^{^z}.

Media^{^y}	Chemical properties^{^x}		Physical properties^{^w}
Media^{^y}	pH	EC (dS/m)	BD (g/cm³)	PD (g/cm³)	AFP (%)	CC (%)	PS (%)
CT	7.4 a	3.6 d	0.3 c	0.5 d	8.7 e	66.9 c	46.7 e
MM360 (MM)	6.4 c	0.7 g	0.1 e	0.3 e	5.9 fg	64.6 cd	66.7 b
3CT:1MM	7.5 a	2.4 e	0.3 c	0.7 c	7.2 f	77.1 b	54.2 cde
1CT:1MM	7.4 a	2.1 ef	0.2 d	0.5 d	5.4 g	73.1 b	60.0 bcd
1CT:3MM	7.1 ab	1.3 fg	0.1 e	0.3 e	3.2 h	67.4 c	61.1 bc
GPT	6.4 c	13.0 b	0.7 b	1.4 b	12.6 d	109.4 a	51.1 de
SP	6.8 bc	9.8 c	0.8 a	1.6 a	18.6 c	113.5 a	51.0 de
CM	5.6 d	4.5 d	0.2 d	0.5 d	20.9 b	60.7 d	60.0 bcd
MM560	4.8 e	14.3 a	0.1 e	0.5 d	22.7 a	61.7 d	78.3 a

↵^z Values represent the mean of three replications. Values in the same column differ significantly when followed by a different letter, LSD_0.05.
↵^y Refer to text for description of media composition.
↵^x Each sample consisted of a water:substrate ratio of 1:1 (v/v). EC = electrical conductivity; pH and EC of water used in sample preparation = 5.91 and 0.02, respectively.
↵^w Each sample consisted of a water:substrate ratio of 2:1 (v/v). BD = bulk density; PD = particle density; AFP = air filled porosity; CC = container capacity; PS = pore space.

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Table 2.

Growth of containerized Jiffy Plug red maple (Acer rubrum L.) and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.) seedlings in composted MSW media and in a noncomposted substrate^{^z}.

Species	Media^{^y}	Height growth (%)	Biomass (g)				R/S	Leaf area (cm²)
Species	Media^{^y}	Height growth (%)	Leaf	Stem	Root	Total	R/S	Leaf area (cm²)
Red maple	CT	1.0 ab	0.63 bc	4.24 b	4.83^ns	9.70 bc	1.09 ab	22.4 bc
	MM360 (MM)	4.9 ab	3.23 a	5.63 a	5.50	14.36 a	0.65 c	113.6 ab
	3CT:1MM	0.0 b	0.0 c	4.28 ab	5.17	9.41 c	1.21 a	0.0 c
	1CT:1MM	3.6 ab	0.54 bc	4.54 ab	4.74	9.82 bc	1.01 ab	6.0 c
	1CT:3MM	7.4 a	2.33 ab	5.14 ab	5.67	13.13 ab	0.85 bc	136.8 a
Green ash	CT	2.6 bc	1.83 c	4.22 c	4.45 c	10.50 c	0.80^ns	41.3 c
	MM360 (MM)	27.9 a	6.06 a	6.88 a	10.54 a	23.42 a	0.82	434.7 a
	3CT:1MM	3.9 bc	3.02 bc	4.48 c	4.96 c	12.46 c	0.73	142.8 bc
	1CT:1MM	13.1 b	4.45 ab	5.87 b	7.42 b	17.48 b	0.76	288.1 ab
	1CT:3MM	0.0 c	2.57 bc	4.73 c	5.58 c	12.86 c	0.82	85.5 c

↵^z Seedlings grown for 12 weeks (January to March) in 1 gal plastic containers in the greenhouse (80 to 120 W/m² photosynthetically active radiation [natural daylight + supplemental illumination from 175-W metal halide lamps on a 2 hr photoperiod 0600 to 0800 hr]). Each value represents the mean of six replications. To standardize the variance, height growth percentages were converted to arcsin transformations before statistical analyses. Within each species, values in the same column differ significantly when followed by a different letter, LSD_0.05; ns = not significant.
↵^y Refer to text for description of media composition.

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Table 3.

Growth of 2-year-old bare-root containerized red maple (Acer rubrum L.) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) seedlings in composted and noncomposted substrates^{^z}.

Species	Media^{^y}	Height growth (%)	Biomass (g)				R/S	Leaf area (cm²)
Species	Media^{^y}	Height growth (%)	Leaf	Stem	Root	Total	R/S	Leaf area (cm²)
Red maple	GPT	12.2 a	0.85 ab	2.06 ab	3.58 ab	6.48 ab	1.39 a	145.5 ab
	SP	9.0 ab	0.47 b	1.17 b	2.01 bc	3.65 b	1.30 ab	77.6 b
	CM	4.6 ab	1.52 a	2.65 a	4.39 a	8.56 a	1.00 cd	300.0 a
	MM560	3.0 b	0.26 b	1.15 b	1.47 c	2.88 b	1.07 bc	43.7 b
	MM360	5.6 ab	1.56 a	2.23 ab	2.71 abc	6.49 ab	0.73 d	299.2 a
Sugar maple	GPT	3.2 b	0.08 b	1.13^ns	1.74^ns	2.95^ns	1.98^ns	17.5 ab
	SP	0.6 b	0.33 ab	0.80	1.96	3.18	1.98	59.4 a
	CM	0.6 b	0.02 b	1.20	1.44	2.65	1.23	3.6 b
	MM560	23.2 a	0.60 ab	0.52	1.53	2.65	1.34	108.5 a
	MM360	9.8 ab	0.64 a	0.89	2.17	3.70	1.86	100.2 a

↵^z Seedlings grown for 12 weeks (June to August) in 1 gal plastic containers in the greenhouse under natural daylight. Each value represents the mean of five replications. To standardize the variance, height growth percentages were converted to arcsin transformations before statistical analyses. Within each species, values in the same column differ significantly when followed by a different letter, LSD_0.05; ns = not significant.
↵^y Refer to text for description of media composition.