THE INFLUENCE OF IRRIGATION ON THE GROWTH OF PAULOWNIA TREES AT THE FIRST YEAR OF CULTIVATION IN A LIGHT SOIL

Abstract

The field experiment was carried out in 2016 on sandy soil in the forest nursery Białe-Błota (Bydgoszcz Forest Division, Poland). The effect of sprinkler irrigation on the growth Paulownia Shan Tong trees was investigated. The experiment was established as one factorial. The variability factor was the irrigation: S-sprinkler  irrigation and C- without irrigation (control). The process included the controls of growth parameters: tree height, trunk diameter, number and surface of leaves. It was found that the sprinkled seedlings of Paulownia Shan Tong were significantly higher than those growing in the non-irrigated plots. The sprinkler irrigation applied in the experiment resulted in an increase in the number of leaves of the Paulownia and their surface area, which resulted in an increase in biomass yield. By analysing the results of the study on trunk diameter, leaf number and surface, it may be stated that irrigation watering significantly influenced the tested parameters. Irrigation significantly increased the height of Paulownia trees. The positive effect of the usage of sprinkler irrigation may indicate the possibility of effective application of this method in the field cultivation of Paulownia Shan Tong.

Keywords: Paulownia, Growth, Forest nursery, Sprinkler irrigation, Light soil

Article DOI: http://doi.org/10.15544/RD.2017.121