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Loblolly pine cutting morphological traits: Effects on rooting and field performance

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Abstract

Shoot cuttings were harvested fromfour-year-old, loblolly pine hedges in March andSeptember of 1987, and placed into a series offactorial combinations of cutting length, diameterclass, and the presence/absence of a terminal bud toassess effects on rooting and field performance.Average rooting in the March trial was 50 percent andonly 20 percent for the September trial; however, thebest treatment in March yielded 100 percent rooting.Terminal bud status did not appear to influencepercent rooting. Shorter cuttings (5.1 or 7.6 cm)with an average diameter of 2 or 3 mm tended to rootbetter and develop more roots. Field performance ofthe rooted cuttings through age five suggests that theoriginal cutting does not require a terminal bud, butthe best set of morphological traits differ dependingon bud status. Considering both rooting ability andfield growth with an original tip bud present, thebest cutting dimensions were 5.1 or 7.6 cm long and 2or 3 mm in diameter. Without a tip bud present,cutting dimensions were restricted to 7.6 or 10.2 cmlong and 3 mm in diameter. Number of main roots wasa weak predictor of tree height or dbh at age five.

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Author notes

  1. H.E. Stelzer

    Present address: Champion International Corporation, 4025 Highway 178, Jay, FL, 32565, U.S.A.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Southern Research Station, P.O. Box 2680, Asheville, NC, 28802, U.S.A.

    G.S. Foster

  2. USDA Forest Service, Southern Institute of Forest Genetics, Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, P.O. Box 1387, Normal, AL, 35762, U.S.A.

    H.E. Stelzer

  3. International Forest Company, P.O. Box 290, Odenville, AL, 35120, U.S.A.

    J.B. McRae

Authors
  1. G.S. Foster
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  2. H.E. Stelzer
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  3. J.B. McRae
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Foster, G., Stelzer, H. & McRae, J. Loblolly pine cutting morphological traits: Effects on rooting and field performance. New Forests 19, 291–306 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006691808772

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