Study On Growth And Biological Characteristics Of Sapling Of Two Cherry Cultivars And Their Adaptability To The Soil

Using two cherry cultivars ‘Brooks’ and ‘Tieton’ sapling grown in clay loam and sandy loam as test materials,the growth and physiological characteristics of the two cultivars and their adaptability to soil conditions in Tianjin were studied,aiming at providing the commercial cultivation and taking appropriate management measures in field with theoretical basis.The investigated items in the experiment included phenological period,growth of shoot,root and leaf,leaf anatomical structure,pigment content and physiological and photosynthetic characteristics.Results showed that ‘Brooks’ and ‘Tieton’ sapling in Tianjin area sprouted around 8th of March,opened the leaf around 23 rd of March and defoliated in the middle of November.There were one peak appeared in May in the shoot growth and two peaks emerged respectively in April and September in the root growth around a year.Speed growth of the shoot alternated with that of the root.The shoot increment and leaf area of ‘Brooks’ were very significantly higher than that of ‘Tieton’,while the shoot diameter and leaf thickness of ‘Tieton’ were significantly higher than that of ‘Brooks’.The net photosynthetic rate(Pn),peroxidase(POD)activity and soluble sugar content in the roots were very significantly higher than that of ‘Tieton’,while the carotenoid(car)and malondialdehyde(MDA)and soluble sugar contents in the leaves were significantly or very significantly higher than that of ‘Brooks’.There was no significant difference between the two cherrys in the root activity and chlorophyll(chl)content.The shoot length and diameter increments,leaf thickness,leaf area,root activity and Pn of the plants cultivated in clay loam was significantly or very significantly higher than that of the plants cultivated in sandy loam,while the transpiration rate(E),stomatal conductance(C),intercellular CO2 concentration(Ci),MDA and soluble sugar contents and peroxidase(POD)and catalase(CAT)activities of the plants cultivated in sandy loam were significantly or very significantly higher than that of the plants cultivated in clay loam soil.The carotenoid(car)content,E,C and Ci of the plants were relatively higher but the soluble sugar content in leaves was lower when ‘Brooks’ planted in sandy soil,while ‘Tieton’ appeared reveres variation.The leaf thickness and area,root soluble sugar content,Pn,MDA content and root activity of both ‘Brooks’ and ‘Tieton’ were higher when they grew in sandy loam,but if in clay loam the soluble sugar and MDA contents were higher instead.The average values of membership function of the indexes were larger when the plants grew in clay loam and smaller when in sandy loam.Conclusions can be drown from comprehensive analysis that ‘Brooks’ and ‘Tieton’ sapling have roughly the same phonological period and the way of shoot growth in Tianjin,with some differences between the two cherry cultivars in physiological and biochemical characteristics and photosynthetic properties.Although both ‘Brooks’ and ‘Tieton’ sapling can grow normally in sandy loam they prefer to grow in clay loam.