TY - JOUR A1 - Franco Leemhuis, José Antonio AU - Martínez Sánchez, Juan José AU - Fernández Hernández, Juan Antonio AU - Bañón Arias, Sebastián del Pilar AU - Ochoa Rego, Jesús AU - Vicente Colomer, María José T1 - Nursery pre-conditioning of plants for revegetation, gardening and landscaping in semi-arid environments Y1 - 2010 SN - 2172-0436 UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10317/1527 AB - In landscaping and xerogardening projects, under semi-arid conditions, appropriate techniques used in the nursery during seedling production are crucial for the establishment, survival and subsequent growth of plants after transplanting (Figure 1). Morphological and anatomical adaptations in seedlings include reductions in shoot height and/or leaf area, rises in root-collar diameter and root growth potential and, often, a reduction in the shoot:root ratio; in addition, there are physiological characteristics of seedlings related to osmotic adjustment and water-use efficiency, such as low stomatal conductance, leaf water potential, leaf turgor potential and relative water content. These occur as a result of hardening and acclimation processes (pre-conditioning) during the nursery period, and are correlated with the ability to withstand the shock of transplantation and to increase survival and plant growth following transplantation in xerogardens and semi-arid landscapes (Franco et al., 2006). Deficit irrigation is the most commonly used pre-conditioning technique to produce high-quality seedlings (Arreola et al., 2006; Franco et al., 2008). In addition, using large-sized containers and appropriate substrates, withholding N nutrition, inoculating arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, applying plant growth retardants and mechanical conditioning methods are common. Varying microclimatic conditions are also used to control growth to produce high-quality seedlings (Franco et al., 2006). KW - Producción Vegetal KW - Gestión del riego KW - Planta nativa KW - Planta ornamental KW - Establecimiento de plantas KW - Reguladores del crecimiento vegetal KW - Producción de plántulas KW - Trasplante KW - Xerojardinería KW - Prolina KW - Aguas salinas KW - Salinidad KW - Consumo de agua KW - Estrés hídrico KW - Irrigation management KW - Native plant KW - Ornamental plant KW - Plant establishment KW - Plant growth regulator KW - Seedling production KW - Transplant KW - Xerogardening KW - Proline KW - Saline water KW - Salinity KW - Water consumption KW - Water stress LA - eng PB - Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena ER -