Variability of chlorophyll and nitrogen content in the leaves of two-year-old seedlings of European chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) of different origin

Abstract

Two-year-old seedlings of European chestnut derived from twelve 45year-old progenies grown at the permanent experimental plot in Homé Lefantovce were used in the study. The progenies originated from 12 old mother trees grown on four different localities of Slovakia (Jelenec, Homé Lefantovce, Tlstý Vrch and Duchonka). In 2006, at three different dates (June, August, September), indirect measurement of chlorophyll content by a portable device Chlorophyll Content Meter CL-01 (fi. Hansatech) was carried out in 180 seedlings (15 ones in each progeny). In August and September, also direct determination of chlorophyll a and b content was carried out in 81 seedlings from 9 progenies (after excluding progenies from Duchonka). In the leaves collected in August, nitrogen content was determined with a CNS 2000 Analyzer (LECO corp., USA). Variability of CL-01 values and chlorophyll content values was highly significantly influenced by date of measurement (the lowest CL-01 values in June), individual progenies and provenience (origin) of parental trees. The most distinct differences between the three studied proveniences were observed in chlorophyll a+b content in the August sampling. Correlation between N content and chlorophyll content was medium strong (r = 0.413 and 0.419).