Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Education Center of Zanjan Province, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Zanjan, Iran
2 Senior expert of the watershed department of the Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Training Center of Zanjan Province, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Zanjan, Iran
Abstract
Introduction
According to the climatic conditions in most areas of Zanjan province, watersheds are faced with inappropriate temporal and spatial distribution of rainfall and seasonal water shortage in spring and summer. The use of water catchment systems and super absorbent materials is one of the proposed methods for supplying the water needed by seedlings for the construction of rainfed gardens in sloping lands to prevent erosion in these lands and their proper exploitation.One of the strategies that can increase the efficiency of rainwater harvesting is to assist in the establishment and adaptation of seedlings planted on steep soils, using super absorbent materials at the bottom of these seedlings. The use of these materials increases the tolerance of horticultural crops under drought stress and preserves soil moisture. Therefore, feasibility of establishment of fruit trees and development of these orchards using moisture-absorbing materials seem necessary through the application of intake surface systems. accordingly, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of super absorbent materials on diameter growth of two type trees in rain water harvesting systems .in this way, it is possible to study the simultaneous use of super absorbent and super absorbent materials to create dryland orchards in sloping lands.
Materials and methods
In this study, the effect of application superabsorbent material on growth of rain-fed trees in managed rainwater harvesting systems was investigated and application or non-application of superabsorbent as main treatment, three management treatments including: 1) no change at the level of system, 2) Trench collection and vegetation cover of the system level and 3) Semi-insulated treatment as sub-treatments (in the three repetitions) and Was examined with randomized complete block design two fruit tree including almond and apricot as sub-treatments in a split plot design. During the design, tree growth indices including changes in diameter, height and canopy of seedlings were measured in different treatments of rain water harvesting.
Results and discussion
Based on the results of chemical analysis of soil samples in the research area, the average electrical conductivity (ds/m) was 0.44, the average soil organic matter was 0.88 percent, lime or neutralizable carbonates was 0.66 percent, potassium was 1.42 (mg/kg), carbonate was 2.22 (mg/kg), and bicarbonate (meq/lit). During the implementation of the project, growth indices including changes in diameter, height, and canopy cover of seedlings were measured over a five-year period. Based on the results obtained, the maximum and minimum diameter growth rates of almond seedlings in the treatments with and without superabsorbent were 1.4 and 0.35 cm and 1.2 and 0.3 cm, respectively, and this rate for apricot seedlings was 1.4 and 0.2 cm, and 0.9 and 0.2 cm, respectively, without superabsorbent. Accordingly, the surface treatment of the catchment surface system with vegetation cover had the lowest amount of diameter growth in almond and apricot seedlings, and the insulated treatment had the highest diameter growth. This situation actually indicates the effect of creating a catchment surface system with different coverage levels in creating different amounts of runoff and, as a result, differences in the diameter growth of the planted seedlings. The existence of significant differences between treatments and blocks in the diameter growth of almond and apricot seedlings compared to the year in the experimental treatments with and without superabsorbent at the one percent level indicates the effectiveness of the operations carried out in each of these treatments. However, the analysis of variance of the factors affecting the diameter growth values of seedlings showed that the presence of superabsorbents did not have a significant effect on their growth.
Conclusions
Based on the results of this study and other researchers, the significance of the effect of superabsorbent materials on plant growth in the use of superabsorbent materials is not a general and permanent state and depends on the climatic conditions of the region, the type of soil and its texture, the type of plant, and even the topographic conditions and slope of the planting site. Considering the results of this research and the results of others, it can be argued that the effect of super absorbent materials on the growth of each plant or seedling should be investigated and evaluated in the desired area and an opinion should be expressed based on that.
Keywords
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