THE IMPACT OF SOWING MEDIUM AND NITROGEN FERTILIZATION RATES ON PRODUCTION AND GROWTH OF MAHOGANY SEEDLINGS

Abstract

This study was carried out at the nursery of Horticulture Department , Faculty of Agriculture , Ain Shames University during two seasons of 2015 and 2016 to study the effect of sowing medium and fertilization rates on vegetative growth and chemical composition of Swietenia macrophylla and Khaya senegalensis seedlings. Three different sowing media were used i.e., S M1 = Perlite : peat moss: compost(1:1:1) , SM2 = perlite : peat moss : compost(1:2:1) and SM3 = Perlite : peat moss : compost ( 1:1:2 ) (v/v). Also ,four fertilization rates were used as follow : without fertilizer (control ),5,10 and 15 g / plant of hydrocomplex fertilizer .The following data were recorded, stem height (cm),stem diameter (mm) , leaves number/ plant, leaf area (cm2 ) and total fresh and dry biomass (gm). Moreover, chlorophyll a & b leaves contents (mg/g FW.), total carbohydrate content ( mg/g DW), nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content in leaves (% D.W.) were determined. Regarding the effect of sowing medium, the obtained results showed that, using sowing medium which content the highest percentage of compost (1:1:2 ) significantly increased plant height,