Effects of plantbac panels on seedling establishment and plant growth of Calligonum comosum L’Herit. in desert areas of Iran

Abstract

Today, application of superabsorbent material as plantbac panels to overcome water shortages is considered for improving plant vegetation cover in arid areas. This research was aimed to investigate the effects of plantbac panels on plant establishment and growth of Calligonum comosum L’Herit. in the Kashan Arid and Desert Research Station over three years from 2017 to 2020. The experiment was conducted as a split plot design based on randomized complete blocks in four replications, in which the duration of irrigation (2 and 4 weeks) was considered as the main plot, and the amount of water (10 and 20 liters) and treatment (plantbac and control) as sub subplots. The seedlings were planted in the soils with and without plantbac panels. For each plant, the irrigation was conducted using 10 and 20 l water for two- and four-week intervals. Data were collected and analyzed in terms of plant height, canopy diameter, collar diameter, and survival rate. The results showed that the use of plantback plates increased the examined growth criteria of seedlings. When comparing interactions between treatments, the height, collar diameter and crown diameter of the Plantback treated seedlings showed average 11, 11, and 14.8% superiority to their controls. Furthermore, the interaction effect of irrigation by water consumption was significant for canopy diameter (p < 0.05), while interaction effect of irrigation by plantbac was significant for plant height (p < 0.05). The average higher and lower crown diameters of 83 cm and 39 cm were observed by 10 l water in two- and four-week irrigations, respectively.