Study of seed germination and seedling survival of Pinus brutia Ten. in different soils of nursery

Current research was aimed to study the effect of soil different treatments on seed germination and seedling survival of Pinus brutia Ten. seedling in nursery of Koloudeh, located in Amol city. Seeds in plastic pots were sown at four different soil treatments including: (a) nursery soil (control), (b) control soil: cattle manure (5:1), (c) control soil: decomposited litter (5:1), (d) control soil: cattle manure: decomposited litter (5:1:1). The design was set up as completely randomized design (CsRD) with four replications. After recording data of germination, survival was studied in four months. The analysis of variance demonstrated that soil affected significantly all germination attributes, so that treatment (d) [control soil: cattle manure: decomposited litter (5:1:1)] had higher amount in all attributes (except mean germination time). The results showed that there was a significant correlation between germination attributes and soil type. Also a significant correlation was detected between seedlings survival and soil type, so that seedling survival was increased 25 percentage using organic matter (in treatment d). It is concluded from the results of this research that organic materials improve the physical and nutritious condition of the soil, which, consequently improves seed germination and seedling survival of pinus brutia. Thus, it is proposed to paya particular attention to the composition of the seedbed and nutritious elements of the soil-media in nursuries in order to enhance the qualitative and quantitative seedling production of this species.