Somatic Embryogenesis in Slash Pine (Pinus Elliottii Engelm.)

Abstract

Slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) is a hard yellow pine indigenous to southeastern United states. It is a rapid-growing, straight, symmetrical tree attaining a height of 100 ft, with a diameter of 1 m. The wood is considered to be the hardest, strongest, and heaviest of all commercial conifers in the United States. It starts producing seeds at the age of 15–20 years with good production every 2–3 years. It is one of the two southern pines used for naval stores and also one of the most frequently planted timber species in North America (Lohrey & Kossuth, 1990). It is favored by many forest managers because of its fast growth and excellent utility for pulp, lumber, and poles (Sheffield et al., 1983). It has the smallest native range of the four southern pines and grows naturally from south of South Carolina to central Florida and west to Louisiana. However, its range has been extended with northern plantings in Tennessee and western planting in east Texas where it now seeds naturally (Lohrey & Kossuth, 1990). Plantings outside its natural range mostly occurred over three decades spanning from the early 1950s through the latter 1970s. During this time, the slash pine ecosystem increased by 22% (Sheffield et al., 1983).