Comparison of growth and stem form characters of Pinus sylvestris clones and seedlings of the same origin in a 10-year field trial

Abstract

A field trial of cuttings and seedlings of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) was measured after 1, 2, 9 and 10 years. Growth-related and stem form characteristics of rooted cuttings were compared with those of seedlings of the same origin. The cuttings were shorter than the seedlings throughout the experiment, but the difference became smaller with age. The ranking of cuttings and seedlings by average height was already the same after one growing season regardless of the differences in planting heights of the cuttings, indicating that the genetic origin affected the height more than the initial planting height. The growth patterns of the cuttings were similar to those of the seedlings. The bole straightness and stem taper after 10 years in the field were similar in both plant types, but not stable, indicating that the use of cuttings for stem quality selection at an early age has no advantages over the use of seedlings. In conclusion, the consistent performance of cuttings compared with seedlings of the same origin indicates that performance of cuttings is a valid measure of their genetic potential and that cuttings can be used to speed up selection in breeding programmes with Scots pine.     

Growth and branching habit of rooted cuttings collected from epicormic shoots of Betula pendula Roth

Patterns of shoot growth and branching were studied over two growing seasons in rooted cuttings collected from both epicormic shoots and seedlings of Betula pendula Roth. Epicormic shoots were induced to sprout on stumps and small logs of 5-, 10- and 30-year-old trees. The use of epicormic shoots enhanced the rooting capacity of stem cuttings collected from these shoots but did not appear to reverse the process of maturation. In this study, maturation was based on characteristics typical of mature trees but not necessarily those of the mother plant, because it was not possible to root cuttings, for comparison, from 5-, 10- and 30-year-old ortets, other than from epicormic shoots. There was evidence of the persistence of mature characteristics through an increase in shoot plagiotropism with increasing ortet age. Rooted cuttings from both seedlings and epicormic shoots, however, assumed an increasingly orthotropic habit with a smaller shoot angle at the end of the first growing season than at the beginning and this continued into the second growing season. Other indications of maturation, such as delayed bud flushing and the incidence of flowering with increasing ortet age, were also evident in rooted cuttings from epicormic shoots. There was a clear difference in branching habit depending on cutting source. Rooted cuttings derived from epicormic shoots produced nearly twice as many lateral branches compared with rooted cuttings collected from seedlings, but this was not an effect of maturation. There was some evidence that rooted cuttings derived from seedlings grew taller than rooted cuttings from epicormic shoots.     

Rooting response of late summer cuttings taken from Pinus sylvestris half-sib families

Abstract

One-year-old Pinus sylvestris donor plants were top-pruned in early May, allowing cuttings of three types to develop: shoots from adventitious buds near the top of the plant (T), weaker shoots from adventitious buds emerging further down the stem (M) and shoots from normal buds on branches (B). Cuttings from 46 half-sib families were collected at the beginning of August, treated with indole-butyric acid, immediately inserted in containers with porous substrate and put in a greenhouse, where soil was heated and high air humidity was maintained. The rooting frequency, estimated by counting living plants 10 months after insertion, was 54%. The family variance component for rooting was small and non-significant, while the clone-within-family component was strongly significant and accounted for 21% of the total random variance. Type M and type B cuttings showed significantly better rooting ability than type T cuttings. Including only plants with at least four acceptable shoots in the propagation experiment, 61% of the potential donor plants remained, without loss of any family. If a more restricted selection criterion was applied, including only plants with at least eight acceptable shoots, 21% remained, with a loss of 13 families. It was concluded that rooting ability of P. sylvestris can be brought to a level that could justify its inclusion in a breeding programme. The lack of family variation was also favourable in this respect, as no families were lost owing to low rooting response. However, the number of suitable cuttings produced by the donor plants needs to be increased.     

Inducing long-shoot growth for vegetative propagation of western larch

This study evaluated methods to release from suppression both short shoots on lower stems and developing buds on leaders of western larch (Larix occidentalis Nutt.) seedlings, in order to increase the number of long shoots suitable for stem-tip cuttings. Treatments included application of the cytokinin N-6-benzyladenine (BA), horizontal stem bending, and decapitation on container-grown 1.5-year-old seedling ortets. The rate of release of suppressed growth of short shoots on the basal stem segments increased from 15% to 83% after spraying with 200 ppm BA and doubled on unsprayed horizontally-bent stems. Syllepsis on the upper stems increased by 19% following decapitation and by 32% after a combination of decapitation and BA treatments. Although these treatments resulted in large increases in the numbers of long shoots available for stem cuttings, the rootability of BA-treated shoots needs assessing before use in operational programs.     

白刺幼苗芽库及枝系构型对不同氮添加水平的响应

[目的]研究不同氮添加梯度下白刺幼苗芽库组成及空间结构的差异,探讨了幼苗的养分限制、氮素利用以及根系和插穗的品质与芽库的关联,阐明了白刺芽库响应氮素有效性所采取的适应性策略。[方法]本研究通过盆栽控制实验,对唐古特白刺幼苗的芽库特征进行了测量分析。[结果]氮添加显著增加了白刺幼苗芽和营养枝数量,显著降低了休眠芽和休眠枝数量,并对二级枝和三级枝出芽率具有明显促进作用;随着氮添加量的递增,营养枝有从基部向顶端移动趋势;氮平衡指数与白刺幼苗出芽强度、分枝强度、二级枝和三级枝出芽率均呈二次非线性正相关关系;植株氮含量、氮积累量和地下部分形态特征分别与芽和营养枝数量呈正相关关系,与休眠芽和休眠枝数量呈负相关关系。[结论]氮添加影响幼苗芽库容量。随着氮添加水平的提高,各指标多数在N3和N4处理达到最大值后逐渐降低,因此6个氮添加水平中36 mmol·L-1和48 mmol·L-1是白刺幼苗最适氮添加量。氮添加对幼苗芽库内组分的相对位置产生了不同影响趋势,所以白刺幼苗可以通过改变芽库容量和空间分布来响应养分有效性变化。     

Effect of Reforestation Methods on Pine Weevil (Hylobius abietis) Damage and Seedling Survival

Örlander, G.1 and Nilsson, U. (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, The Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Asa Forest Research Station, S-360 30 Lammhult, Sweden and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, The Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Box 49, S-230 53 Alnarp, Sweden). Effect of reforestation methods on pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) damage and seedling survival. Received Feb. 16, 1998. Accepted Sept. 15, 1998. Scand. J. For. Res. 00: 000-000, 199X. Damage to Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) seedlings by the large pine weevil, Hylobius abietis (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), was monitored in relation to clear - cutting age and silvicultural treatments in southern Sweden. New clear - cuttings were established on four sites during five consecutive years, and seedlings were planted on them from 1989 through 1993. In total, 31 774 seedlings were planted on 20 clear - cuttings. The measures evaluated were seedling insecticide treatment, application of herbicide to ground vegetation, scarification (mound) and planting late in the season. In addition, the effects of slash removal and seedling type were studied. The pine weevil was, by far, the dominant damaging agent. Planting without insecticide or soil treatment on fresh, one- or two - year - old clear - cuttings resulted in a mean level of weevil - caused mortality exceeding 60%. The results indicate that the risk of serious damage by pine weevils remains high until the clear - cuttings reach four or five years of age. Killing the vegetation with herbicide had no effect on pine weevil damage. Slash removal decreased damage on older clear - cuttings, but the effect was small. Scarification (mounding) strongly reduced damage. On fresh clear - cuttings the mean mortality caused by pine weevils in mounded plots was 13%, whereas it was 77% in the controls. The mounding effect varied between sites and clear - cuttings of different ages. Late planting (10 June instead of 1 May) reduced damage on two- and three - year - old clear - cuttings. Three - year - old, bare - rooted seedlings were not damaged as seriously as two - year - old, containerized ones, but the effect was probably due to the larger size of the bare - rooted seedlings. Non - lethal injury resulted in reduced seedling growth. Damage by pine weevils varied between years and within growing seasons. However, on fresh, one- and two - year - old clear - cuttings, damage was severe enough to cause high mortality during all studied years.     

Field performance of Salix clones propagated via shoot cultures in vitro

Survival, growth, plant structure and insect damage of in vitro‐derived cuttings from two Salix clones (5. schwerinii and 5. viminalis) were compared in a field trial with performance of conventional cuttings of the same clones. No obvious morphological abnormalities were induced by in vitro treatment. The survival rate of in vitro‐derived cuttings of the S. schwerinii clone was much higher than that of conventional cuttings. In the 5. viminalis clone, height growth was slightly but significantly reduced for in vitro‐derived cuttings compared with conventional cuttings although stem basal area and estimated plant dry weight were unaffected. The number of stems per cutting, the number of side shoots per stem and gall midge damage did not appear to be affected by the type of cutting. Electrophoretic analysis of 12 enzyme systems revealed identical isozyme patterns for m vitro‐derived and conventionally propagated plants.     

Bulk method of hardwood cutting propagation ofLarix olgensis

Larix olgensis is a major reforestation species in areas of the northeast part of China. Rooted cutting for vegetative propagation on this Larch has been carried out since 1990, and later the bulk method of hardwood cutting propagation also has been studied. The result is as follows: (1) Cuttings from physiologically juvenile trees are easy to root, and develop better roots. In addition, there are many methods to enhance the cuttings rooting. (2) The good time for seedling transplanting is in the middle of August. Treatments with plant hormones and rare-earth compounds can improve the seedling survival rate, and the survival rate of the seedlings soaked in chelate rare-earth molybdenum compound (300×10⁻⁶) for 3 hours reached 94.00%, 19.49% higher than that of the control. (3) Methods of maintaining juvenility such as hedging, is essential to further developments for operational planting of vegetative propagates. Hedges in 5 years old can produce 91.75 shoots per tree, exceeding the control to 152.2%. (Responsible Editor: Zhu Hong)     

Efficiency of planting hybrid larch F1 ( Larix gmelinii var. japonica × L. kaempferi ) at different planting densities and using seedlings or rooted cuttings

The efficiency of planting a hybrid larch F₁ at two planting densities and of using seedlings of hybrid larch F₁ or rooted cuttings of Gream, the registered variety, was investigated. Significantly more time was required to move from one planting spot to the next in plots with 625 seedlings/ha than in plots with 1,333 seedlings/ha, but there was no significant difference between seedlings and rooted cuttings. Approximately 18% more time was needed to plant a single planting stock at the low planting density than at the high density. The need to prune roots or enlarge a planting hole occurred more often for rooted cuttings than for seedlings, and 17% more time was needed to plant rooted cuttings of Gream than seedlings.     

Pesticidal Activity of the Leaf and Bark Extracts of Giliricidia sepium on Callosobrucus maculatus

Abstract

The effects of different concentrations of cold and hot aqueous extracts of G. sepium on C. maculatus, the storage pest of cow-pea were examined. The extracts had a killing effect on the weevils. The percentage mortality of the weevils increased with the increase in the extract concentrations. Statistical analyses at 5% level revealed that significant differences abound in the efficacies of the cold and hot aqueous extracts. The hot aqueous leaf and bark extracts tend to have more toxic effect than the cold aqueous extracts. Also, extracts from the bark tend to be more toxic to the weevils than those of the leaves.     

Persistence of deltamethrin against Hylobius abietis on Norway spruce seedlings

Abstract

The pine weevil Hylobius abietis L. is major threat to forest regeneration in the Nordic countries. The persistence of the deltamethrin insecticide used against pine weevil on Norway spruce seedlings was studied after the seedlings were dipped or sprayed. Insecticide application was timed to occur either before or after frozen storage. Bioassays with the stems of Norway spruce seedlings were used to determine the effect of the insecticide against feeding by the pine weevil. The measures of the control effect were reduction in area of gnawed bark and the state of health of the pine weevils. The concentration of deltamethrin decreased rapidly in seedlings, especially after spraying treatment, which did not efficiently protect seedlings against the pine weevil 6 weeks after planting. There were no signs of degradation of deltamethrin or of an effect on seedling height after frozen storage. In bioassay, the amount of deltamethrin that efficiently prevented feeding by the pine weevil was 5.5 µg g^?1 fresh weight. After one growing season in the field, about 1.76–2.24 µg g^?1 (13–15% of the initial level) of dipped deltamethrin remained in the seedlings. In seedlings treated by spraying, 0.93–0.98 µg g^?1 (7–8% of the initial level) of the deltamethrin remained. According to bioassays, these amounts were no longer sufficient to protect seedlings from feeding by the pine weevil. Therefore, in the first summer, dipping was a significantly more efficient method of application for control of pine weevils.     

Influence of Stem Diameter on the Survival and Growth of Containerized Norway Spruce Seedlings Attacked by Pine Weevils (Hylobius spp.)

Pine weevils (Hylobius spp.) feeding on stem bark of young conifer seedlings pose a serious threat to forest regeneration-planting programmes in Nordic countries. This study was designed to determine the threshold diameter for planted, untreated containerized seedlings, above which pine weevils cause little or no damage. The effects of sublethal weevil damage on seedling growth were also assessed. In total, 5320 containerized spruce seedlings were planted on scarified and unscarified plots on three sites in southern Sweden. Seedlings in six size classes, which differed with regard to age (1.5-3.5 yrs) and cultivation density (28-446 seedlings m 2) were grown using the Combicell system. None of the seedlings was treated with insecticides, except for those in the smallest class, where both untreated and treated seedlings were used. Inspections were made periodically during the first 3 yrs and after both 5 and 7 yrs. A statistically significant relationship was found between seedling losses due to pine weevil attack and seedling stem-base diameter at the time of planting out, on both scarified and unscarified plots. For seedlings with a stem-base diameter of around 10 mm, mortality due to pine weevil attack on scarified plots was low enough to be considered negligible. This threshold diameter was several millimetres greater for seedlings planted on unscarified plots. An analysis of the relationship between the extent of weevil damage and seedling growth rate showed that among surviving seedlings, those that grew fast tended to show low levels of damage. On unscarified plots, the mortality rate amongst seedlings treated once with a permethrin insecticide was only one-third that of untreated seedlings. On scarified plots, the corresponding difference was somewhat smaller. Repeated insecticide treatment resulted in a pronounced reduction in seedling mortality on the unscarified plots, whereas the effect was weaker on scarified plots.     

Infection experiments with Gremmeniella abietina on seedlings of Norway spruce and Scots pine

Conidia of Gremmeniella abietina infected and caused disease symptoms in annual shoots of both Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) seedlings. In Norway spruce shoots the infection remained largely latent, with only a few seedlings showing symptoms. Mycelial growth inside the shoots was faster in Scots pine than in Norway spruce and was favoured by low temperature in both hosts. The shoots of Norway spruce seedlings had higher endophyte populations than those of Scots pine, and the populations were decreased by low temperatures. Reductions in the normal epiphytic or endophytic flora by acid mist treatments seemed to favour the development of G. abietina.     

Feeding in the Crowns of Scots Pine Trees by the Pine Weevil Hylobius abietis

Hylobius abietis (L.) (Coleoptera:Curculionidae) is the major insect pest of forest regeneration in Europe, where adult weevils kill conifer seedlings by feeding on the bark. This study demonstrates that pine weevils also feed extensively in the crowns of mature coniferous trees. Crown feeding primarily took place during a limited period immediately after the migration to new breeding sites (roots of freshly cut coniferous trees). The weevils reached the crowns mainly by flight and tended to concentrate on trees in freshly cut-over areas. The proportion of sexually mature females successively increased during the crown-feeding period, indicating that they require a certain period of maturation feeding. The pine weevils fed on twigs of 3-20 mm thickness, and they consumed about 0.2-0.3% (200 cm²) of the total bark surface in the crowns of mature Scots pine trees. Calculations suggested that the amount of food consumed in the trees surrounding a fresh clear-cutting should have met the nutrient requirements of the weevil population in the area during the maturation feeding period. In the crowns of shelterwood trees, about 50 cm² of the bark was consumed per tree (0.63 m² ha-1). This level of consumption is not believed to be high enough to relieve the feeding pressure on seedlings and thereby explain the low level of damage usually found under shelterwoods.     

Rooting of juvenile succulent cuttings from haif‐sib families of Picea abies

Leader shoots from juvenile succulent Norway spruce seedlings were used as cuttings 11 weeks after sowing. The seedlings were grown for 6 additional weeks and then apically dominant and lateral shoots were also used as cuttings. These three cutting categories, leaders, dominants and laterals, rooted 99.4, 99.0 and 97.5 % respectively and performed differently with respect to rooting development, number of roots per cutting and response to IBA and PIBA treatments (synthetic auxins). A large individual variation in number of roots per cutting, which auxin treatments did not reduce, was present within each cutting categoty. Laterals from the three different families included in the study showed a different variation than did leaders and dominants. Generally, the juvenile succulent cuttings were easy to root. Seedlings grown at a rather high light intensity (62 W/m²) had the potential to give good rooting even without hormonal treatments.     

Regeneration and multiplication of Albizia procera Benth. through organogenesis

Vegetative propagation techniques are recognized as indispensable tools for mass multiplication of important multipurpose trees adopted in different agroforestry systems. Albizia procera, one among important species, is difficult to propagate commercially either by stem / root cuttings or layering. A study was undertaken to develop procedure for its in vitro regeneration through organogenesis. Explants collected from 15±2 yr-old mature plus trees and from 15 days old juvenile seedlings were regenerated with exogenous application of different hormones. Epicotyl and hypocotyl explants excised from juvenile seedlings showed higher callusing than axillary bud and shoot tip explants derived from mature trees. Benzylaminopurine (BA) at 3 μg/l was most effective, which induced hundred percent callusing in epicotyl and hypocotyl explants in 1/2 Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium. Callus originated from axillary buds and apical shoot tips of mature trees failed to form organs, however callus derived from epicotyl and hypocotyl explants proliferated and formed de novo shoots and leaflets. A concentration of 3 μg/l of BA was found effective for shoot proliferation. Shoots grew vigorously in 2 μg/l gibberellic acid (GA₃) treatment and rooted in 1/2 MS medium supplemented with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Rooting was most successful on medium supplemented with 6 μg/l IBA alone on which 93.3% of the shoots formed roots. Sand or vermiculite supplemented with 4 ml of yoshida solution proved as best hardening media, which recorded 70-80% survival of plantlets. One year old tissue culture raised plants had comparatively more height, collar diameter, biomass, and root shoot ratio than plants raised from cuttings and seeds of the same age. The procedures enumerated provide a basis for the development of in vitro techniques for rapid multiplication of A. procera. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Excised shoots of top-pruned red pine seedlings,a source of inoculum of the Diplodia blight pathogen

Diplodia pinea causes shoot blight and collar rot diseases of pines in forest tree nurseries and sporulates on colonized seedling needles and stems. In late summer 2005, pycnidia of D. pinea were observed on shoots that had been excised by top pruning red pine seedlings earlier that summer during the third season of growth. This observation prompted surveys to determine the incidence and abundance of D. pinea conidia on excised shoots. At each of two nurseries, excised shoots were collected from the seedling canopy and adjacent alleyway soil in two subplots in each of five beds (plots). Excised shoots from both nurseries bore pycnidia with conidia of D. pinea. A water washing and filtration technique was used to quantify D. pinea conidia extracted from these shoots. Excised shoots collected from the seedling canopy yielded more D. pinea conidia than shoots collected from adjacent alleyway soil. Collection and removal of excised shoots resulting from top pruning of pine nursery seedlings should be considered as a means of reducing inoculum in areas where D. pinea is present.     

Evaluating methods for storability assessment and determination of vitality status of container grown Norway spruce transplants after frozen storage

ABSTRACT

Autumn sown small seedlings for later transplanting into large containers have been introduced in Swedish forest tree nurseries. Containerized transplants of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) from three Swedish nurseries were frozen stored during the autumn of 2014 to find out storability and post-storage vitality. Seedling storability was determined by measuring electrolyte leakage after freezing shoots to ?25°C (SE L _diff?25), by measurements of dry matter content (DMC) of seedling shoots and by the commercial molecular test ColdNSure?. Vitality of seedlings after storage was determined by measuring the leakage of electrolytes from shoots (SEL), and seedlings were also tested in regrowth tests. All three methods for storability assessment gave similar predictions, except in one case where DMC showed “not storable” for successfully stored seedlings. Our results indicated that young transplants can be successfully short term stored before reaching the target levels for safe long-term storage of conventional seedlings. Early storage of young transplants resulted in low post-storage survival and vitality expressed as root growth capacity and shoot electrolyte leakage (SEL). A prolonged duration in storage generally resulted in lower survival as well as lower root growth capacity and higher levels of SEL, especially for seedlings stored at earlier dates.     

Parameters affecting shoot production and rooting of cuttings from lodgepole pine hedges

By propagating lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) cuttings in vivo, we obtained after 7 growing cycles (ca 3.5 years) in a greenhouse, sufficient number of cuttings from most families to establish clonal progeny tests. Twenty-one full-sib families with approximately 20 clones per family were studied for five years. Years when cuttings were set, families within latitude and clones within families differed significantly in rooting percentages, with the variance components 4.2%, 8.2% and 9.5%, respectively. One way to get a frequent and uniform rooting is to take cuttings from non-leading shoots since they have higher rooting percentage than leading shoots. Neither total length of the cuttings nor length of the primary needles were significantly correlated to rooting percentage. With appropriate management of the ortets and the cuttings during rooting, most clones could be included in a cutting propagation program.     

Vegetative propagation of Ulmus villosa: effects of plant growth regulators,collection time,type of donor and position of shoot on adventitious root formation in stem cuttings

Techniques for the vegetative propagation of Ulmus villosa, an indigenous agroforestry tree species of the north-western sub-Himalayas, were developed. Studies investigated the effects on rooting of stem cuttings of growth regulators with sucrose and fungicide (0%, 0.2% p-HBA + 5% sucrose + 5% captan, and IBA concentrations ranging from 0.2 to 1.0% plus each containing, 0.2% p-HBA + 5% sucrose + 5% captan). Cuttings were collected at two times of the year (February and July) from two types of stock plant (seedling and mature trees) and from two positions within the shoots (lower and upper nodes). Cuttings collected in February were leafless, while those collected in July had about 80 cm² leaf areas. These cuttings were then set under a mist unit. Percentage rooting and primary root number differed significantly between treated and untreated cuttings. Treatment of cuttings with chemical formulations of 0.4% IBA + 0.2% p-HBA + 5% sucrose + 5% captan maximized rooting (82.0%), while, survival (80%) and primary root number (14.7) were greatest with: (i) 0.6% IBA + 0.2% p-HBA + 5% sucrose + 5% captain and (ii) 0.8% IBA + 0.2% p-HBA + 5% sucrose + 5% captan, respectively. Rooting success and root number were better in propagules set in February rather than in July. Cuttings from seedlings rooted better, with more roots ensuring better survival, than cuttings from mature trees (12–13-years-old). In cuttings from seedlings, those cuttings collected from the lower part of the shoots had greater percentage rooting and primary root number than those from the upper part. Maximum root regeneration (100%), roots number (19.0), and survival (98.5%) were achieved when the time of collection (February) and shoot position were optimized. Rooting was best when cuttings had higher levels of sugar, total carbohydrate and peroxidase enzyme activity, and low N.