Seedling growth in fruit species varies with genotype and growing medium. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test whether different pistachio genotypes and growing media have a role in reaching the budding size of same‐season seedlings. Six Pistacia vera genotypes (G1, G4, G7, G9, G12, and G15) were grown in five media soil, soil+sand (1:1), soil + manure (1:1), sand + manure (1:1), and soil + sand + manure (SSaM, 1:1:1). Spring‐produced seedlings were transplanted and T‐budded in September after the shoot diameter (budding size) exceeded 4 mm. The data were analysed using two‐way ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range test ( P ≤ 0.05) for comparison of the means. Significant differences were found among genotypes and media. G7 (6.00 mm) and G1 (5.59 mm) had the largest budding size. The soil medium produced the highest budding size (6.18 mm). Genotype‐medium interactions further influenced growth; the budding size of G7 in soil reached the highest (6.54 mm). The T‐budding process revealed the highest budding success in G15 (49.19%). Budding success was also the maximum in SSaM (46.00%) and soil + manure (42.60%) media. Genotype‐medium interactions confirmed the highest budding success in G15 grown in SSaM (64.02%) and soil + manure (62.77%) media. This study showed, for the first time, that reaching budding size and budding success of same‐season pistachio seedlings varied significantly depending on the seedling genotype and the type of growing medium used.
Mohammed et al. (Mon,) studied this question.