Quality assessment of Turkish red pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) seedling produced in Muğla-Gökova forest nursery

This study was carried out in order to evaluate according to some morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics of the quality levels of 1+0 year-old bare-rooted Turkish red pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) seedlings belonging to seven different populations (Mamadere, Karacahisar, Yapraktepe, Gökova, Çetibeli, Ağla and Kıyra) grown in Muğla - Gökova Forest Nursery. Seedling height, root collar diameter, shoot and root dry weight, number of buds, number of lateral branches, etc. as morphological traits, root growth potential as physiological traits, photosynthetic pigments and total carbohydrate content as biochemical traits were determined. The results showed that except for the total carbohydrate content of the root, there were significant differences among the populations in terms of morphological, physiological and biochemical traits. Seedlings in the Mamadere population had greater root collar diameter, height and total carbohydrate content in needles. While the Ağla population was found to be higher quality than other populations in terms of number of buds, shoot/root ratio, sturdiness quotient and Dickson quality index, Karacahisar population was found to be higher in terms of photosynthetic pigments. According to TSE standards, the population with a high percentage of seedlings unsuitable for planting and the thinnest diameter is Yapraktepe population, and it can be said that the seedlings belonging to this population will be more sensitive to environmental factors.