Effect of Fertilization and Bacterial Inoculation on the Growth of Alder (Alnus sibirica) in Coal Mine Soil

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of fertilization and nitrogen fixing (N-fixing) bacterial inoculation on the vegetative growth of alder (Alnus sibirica) plant species while grown in coal mine soil. The study was conducted in a greenhouse of the Forest Science Department, Chungbuk National University, South Korea, during the period of May 2019 to July 2019. A completely randomized design (CRD) comprising of four treatments, including T0—non-fertilized non-inoculation (control), T1—fertilization, T2—bacterial inoculation and T3—fertilization along with bacterial inoculation with three replications were used in the study. The results of the study showed that maximum growth of all studied parameters of alder were observed in fertilization along with bacterial inoculation treatment (T3) and this treatment had significant effect on the growth of these parameters as compared to control, except root dry weight and shoot/root ratio. Fertilization treatment (T1) showed significant increase of stem height, shoot fresh and dry weight, plant dry weight, canopy spread, number of leaves, branches and nodes per plant, leaf area and leaf area index of alder in coal mine soil, as compared to control. Bacterial inoculation treatment (T2) also had positive effect on the vegetative parameters of plants comparing to control, excluding root length, root dry weight, shoot/root ratio, and canopy spread. Therefore, it can be summarized that fertilizer application and bacterial inoculation to the soil have a significant role in improving the vegetative growth of alder in coal mine soil.