The Role of Seed Provenance in the Growth and Nutrient Status of Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.)

Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) has worldwide economic and ecological importance and cultivated widely at the rate ofthree million hectare globally. A greenhouse experiment was carried out to investigate the role of seed provenance in growth and nutrient status of Robinia. Seeds from different geographicallocations were planted in the same ecological conditions. After six months, all Robinia trees were harvested and separated into leaves, sterns and roots. Element concentrations of P, S, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Al, Mn and Kin organic materials (leaves, sterns and roots sampIes) were measured by ICP-AES. A significant difference was detected among seeds provenances of Robinia. regarding height (160-240 cm) and diameter (4.2-6.8 mm). Different Robinia seed provenances showed significant different concentrations of potassium (K) in leaves and calcium (Ca) in sterns while no significant differences was observed in terms of other investigated nutrients.