Artificial defoliation, decapitation of the terminal bud, and removal of the apical tip of the shoot in sessile oak seedlings and consequences on subsequent growth

Chaar, H.; Colin, F.; Leborgne, G.

Artificial defoliation, decapitation of the terminal bud, and removal of the apical tip of the shoot in sessile oak seedlings and consequences on subsequent growth

1997

Chaar, H. | Colin, F. | Leborgne, G.

To simulate the damage caused by herbivores and fungi and study their effects on 1-year-old nursery-grown sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) seedlings, (1) the portion of stem produced during the first growth flush, referred to as the growth unit (GU), was artificially defoliated, decapitated, or both or (2) the apical part of the GU was removed in the period of apparent rest. In comparison to control seedlings, defoliation, decapitation combined with defoliation, and apical part removal (1) caused earlier production of the GU in the second flush, (2) reduced length and number of leaves in the GU produced during the second flush, (3) consequently reduced the portion of stem produced during the entire growing season (the annual GU), and (4) increased the number of branches of the GU damaged during the first flush. In contrast, decapitation caused later production of the GU of the second flush and had apparently no effect on height growth components. In all treatments, the number of branches that developed on the GU produced during the first flush increased.

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