Loblolly pine cutting morphological traits: effects on rooting and field performance
2000
Foster, G.S. | Stelzer, H.E. | McRae, J.B.
Shoot cuttings were harvested from four-year-old, loblolly pine hedges in March and September of 1987, and placed into a series of factorial combinations of cutting length, diameter class, and the presence/absence of a terminal bud to assess effects on rooting and field performance. Average rooting in the March trial was 50 percent and only 20 percent for the September trial; however, the best treatment in March yielded 100 percent rooting. Terminal bud status did not appear to influence percent rooting. Shorter cuttings (5.1 or 7.6 cm) with an average diameter of 2 or 3 mm tended to root better and develop more roots. Field performance of the rooted cuttings through age five suggests that the original cutting does not require a terminal bud, but the best set of morphological traits differ depending on bud status. Considering both rooting ability and field growth with an original tip bud present, the best cutting dimensions were 5.1 or 7.6. cm long and 2 or 3 mm in diameter. Without a tip bud present, cutting dimensions were restricted to 7.6 or 10.2 cm long and 3 mm in diameter. Number of main roots was a weak predictor of tree height or dbh at age five.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by National Agricultural Library