Length of cuttings in juvenile development of a hybrid poplar clone

The influence of length of cuttings on establishment of a short rotation plantation was investigated over a period of two years using direct field planting of unrooted Populus Rasumowskiana cuttings. The longer the cuttings, the higher were the survival and dry mass production. Survival at the end of the second growing season varied from 75% to 97%. In two years, the two longest cutting lengths (40 cm and 50 cm) produced about 100 g dry mass per living cutting; but owing to the higher survival rate of the longest cuttings, there was a difference per area unit: 360 g/m² for 40 cm and 400 g/m² for 50 cm-long cuttings. The shortest (10 cm) cuttings produced only 115 g/m².