The Effect of a Hydrophilic Polymer on Plant Water Status and survival of Transplanted Pine Seedlings

Two experiments were conducted to assess the ability of a water-absorbing synthetic polymer to reduce water stress injury of seedlings of Pinus pinea L. under greenhouse and field conditions. In both experiments, two rates of hydrated hydrogel, corresponding to 200 and 400 cm 3 of stored water, and a control treatment without hydrophilic polymer were tested. Survival periods for the pine seedlings were 1.4 and 2.0 times longer for the 200- and 400-cm 3 treatments, respectively, than for a control treatment in a greenhouse assay. In the field assay, only differences in seedling survival between both hydrogel treatments and control were measured. Leaf water potential values of control plants were significantly lower than hydrated polymer treatments in both experiments. From these results, we conclude that the use of hydrophilic polymers may be an important method of increasing the success of reforestation in semiarid regions.