Effects of Different Treatments on the Growth and Quality of Castanea henryi Container Seedlings

The study investigated the effects of container size, substrate composition, and controlled-release fertilizer dosage on the growth and quality of Castanea henryi container seedlings. A 3-factor, 4-level orthogonal design was adopted. The seedling height, ground diameter, and biomass of one-year-old C. henryi container seedlings were measured for each treatment, the height–diameter ratio was calculated, and a comprehensive analysis was conducted using the membership function method.

The findings indicated that substrate composition（A）, controlled-release fertilizer dosage（C） and the interaction between them （A × C）significantly affected the growth of C.henryi container seedlings, whereas container size had no significant effec. The treatments with the highest membership function values for seedling height and ground diameter were A₃B₁C₂ and A₂B₁C₃. Considering cost and seedling growth, the most suitable treatment for container seedling cultivation was A₃B₁C₂.