DefinePK

Abstract

Caper is an important plant because of its high adaptation ability to marginal agriculture fields that are not suitable for agricultural crops. In addition, different parts of Caper such as roots, fruits, flowers and unopened buds can be used to increase the inhabitants` income level. It is also used with other plant species for controlling erosion in rocky and steep landscapes of many countries. This study has been carried on an erosion control area in Artvin-Yusufeli region (Latitude: 40° 46` 23” N, Longitude: 41° 49` 07” E, h: 1010 m) of Turkey. Study area was established with 1-year-old and potted caper seedlings that propagated from 11 different origins of caper seeds that collected from natural growing zone ranging from 300 to 1200 m through the Çoruh Watershed. The experimental design was a randomised complete block with three replications for each provenance where 30 pots were used in each replication and it was researched growth of the seedlings. At the end of the third growing period, among all caper origins, the highest survival rate of 52.2% for origin-5, the average shoot growth of 40.9 cm for origin-1 and coverage of 2397.7 cm2 for origin-7 were determined.