THE EFFECT OF ALTITUDE AND CLOSED CONE (SEED) AGE ON GERMINATION IN RED PINE (Pinus brutia TEN.)

This study investigated changes in the germination rate and germination percentage of seeds obtained from closed pine cones (Pinus brutia Ten.) of different ages collected at different altitudes. The seeds used in the study were obtained from closed cones (3/control, 4, 5, 6, and 7 years old) in the lower (0-200 m) and higher (800-1000 m) altitude zones of the Mersin-Anamur region in a section from the sea to the interior. The seeds germinated in the dark at a constant temperature of 20 degrees C for 28 days. At the end of the germination test, a two-way analysis of variance was performed on the germination percentage data on the 10th, 14th, and 28th days, and the interactions between altitude and cone age were found to be significant (p = 0.05). As a result of the significant interaction between the two groups, the mean separation test (Tukey test) showed that the highest germination rate was 89.0% in the control group, and the lowest was 77.5% in the 7-year-old cones. In the higher altitude zone, the highest germination rate was 74.0% and the lowest was 71.0%, obtained from 5- and 7-year-old seeds, respectively. In general, germination values in the lower altitude zone were higher than those in the higher altitude zone. However, the decrease in germination values from the control to the 7-year-old seeds was greater in the lower altitude zone than in the higher altitude zone. The study found that altitude was more effective than cone age on the germination rate and percentage.