The effect of pre-planting desiccation stress and root pruning on the physiological condition and subsequent field performance of one year old Prunus avium and P. cerasifera seedlings

Abstract

SummarySevere desiccation of dormant seedlings of wild cherry (Prunus avium) and cherry plum (P. cerasifera) did not affect their immediate survival, but caused significant reductions in subsequent shoot growth and root volume which were not recovered in a single growing season. Damage to the fine roots, as indicated by the physiological plant quality measures of tetrazolium absorbance and root electrolyte leakage, increased rapidly over drying periods of ca. 6 h, further damage requiring progressively longer periods of desiccation. Root pruning prior to planting did not mitigate desiccation damage and severe pruning was highly injurious to subsequent growth. Generally the removal of the fine roots was equivalent to a relatively short desiccation period, but pruning of fine roots prior to, instead of after, desiccation in P. cerasifera resulted in more lateral shoots, possibly indicating the production of growth retardant substances by the dried root systems. All measures of physiological plant quality at the beginning of the growing season were effective as predictors of plant performance at the end. In the species tested, the most cost-effective routines are likely to be fine root electrolyte leakage and root moisture content, with tetrazolium testing and stem water potential measurements requiring both greater reproducibility and more sophisticated equipment.