Abstract: We studied the growth and nutrient content of the one-year-old Padus maackii seedlings, which provided a theoretical basis for the field cultivation. The morphology, biomass, photosynthetic rate and nutrient content of the seedlings were determined under four planting densities, including 60, 80, 100 and 120 ind.·m^-2. (1)The biomass was affected significantly in different planting densities. The order of leaf, stem and root biomass of P.maackii seedlings in different planting densities were 80 > 60 > 100 > 120 ind.·m^-2, respectively. The quality index of P.maackii seedlings at the density of 60 and 80 ind·m^-2 were significantly higher than that at the density of 100 and 120 ind.·m^-2. (2)The number of lateral roots were affected significantly under different density treatments, which was maximum at the density of 80 ind.·m^-2. (3)The nutrient content of N, P, K were highest under 80 ind.·m^-2 density treatment, and were significantly higher than that in other treatments. (4)The seedling quality indexes were significantly positively correlated with the leaf biomass, root biomass and lateral root number(P<0.1), but were not correlated with the taproot length and photosynthetic rate(P>0.1). Thus the optimal seedling density of one-year-old P.maackii was 80 ind.·m^-2, and the leaf biomass, lateral root number and root biomass of P.maackii were affected significantly by planting densities, then affected the seedling quality.

Key words: Padus maackii, seedling density, biomass, photosynthesis, nutrient content