Effects of Rootstock on Nutrient Acquisition by Leaf, Kernel and Quality of Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.)

A research was conducted at Pistachio Research Institute in Rafsanjan, Iran, to evaluate the effects of P. vera L. ‘Badami’, P. vera L. ‘Sarakhs’ and P. mutica F and M. ‘Beneh’ rootstocks on mineral content of leaves and kernels of ‘Owhadi’, ‘Kalleh-ghuchi’ and ‘Ahamd-aghaii’ pistachio scion cultivars. Twenty year old trees of these combinations were used during study over 2003 and 2004. Leaves of cultivars grafted on ‘Beneh’ rootstock had higher K, P, Zn and lower Mg and Na content than other rootstocks. Pistachio cultivars growing on ‘Badami’ rootstock had higher Ca and lower Zn content in the leaves than other rootstocks. ‘Ahmad-aghaii’ cultivar grafted on ‘Sarakhs’ rootstock had higher Cu content than those on other rootstocks. Cultivars growing on ‘Sarakhs’ rootstock had higher Fe and Cu content than other rootstocks. The kernels of cultivars grafted on ‘Sarakhs’ rootstock had higher K, P, Mg, Cu, Fe and Zn than other rootstocks. The ‘Sarakhs’ rootstock gave the highest and ‘Beneh’ rootstock the lowest protein content in kernels. Type of rootstock had no significant effect on crude fat content of kernel. Crude fat content of the kernels of ‘Ahmad-aghaii’ was higher than other cultivars. It was concluded that, rootstock selection can be a useful management tool in poor soils.