Features of using peat and sawdust in growing horse chestnut seedlings using roller seeders with pre-treatment of seeds in a magnetic field

This article presents the results of pilot plant research conducted since 2023 at the Dmitrov Forest Nursery using a substrate of sawdust, peat, and a mixture of peat and sawdust. When sowing horse chestnut seeds, they were briefly treated with a magnetic field using a special setup built by the authors on a special stand. Horse chestnut seedlings were sown using an SZhP-4 seeder, followed by soil compaction. The authors propose a new classification of soil mulching. The dynamics of nutrient levels over the entire three-year period of growing horse chestnut seedlings revealed that the sawdust, peat, and soil mixture variants showed a lack of nutrients at the beginning of the study and their presence at the end of the study period. The use of the soil mixture had a beneficial effect and created the best conditions for increasing soil fertility, as evidenced by the presence of earthworms in the soil mixture. The obtained hydrophysical soil properties revealed the best properties, and phenological data confirmed the best development of horse chestnut seedlings: a mixture of sawdust and peat in a ratio of 40 to 60%. The conducted studies demonstrated the effectiveness of using a soil mixture and pre-treatment of horse chestnut seeds with a constant magnetic field.